


Tagged

by FanfictionConnectionWordpress



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, VanderwoodxOC, fanfictionconnection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-27 23:19:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 199,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12592784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanfictionConnectionWordpress/pseuds/FanfictionConnectionWordpress
Summary: Jaded and broken by the world and his life experiences, Vanderwood is convinced that he can never find love, but when he is forced to kidnap Cerise, he finds himself falling for her innocence and immaturity. The way she looks at the world helps him see it in a new way, and maybe just maybe he's in love.Cerise has just moved back to Korea after eight years in France. All she wanted was to cut the umbilical cord between her and her overprotective mother, but now she's managed to get herself into trouble *again*. Will she manage to survive it? With a handsome, apparently an agent, Vanderwood to help her, she's pretty confident she'll be fine. At least she's not bored, right?





	1. Move Out, Move In

***OMG Welcome to Tagged! I've been talking about this fanfiction in the works for a while, and I'm so glad to finally get to share it with you. This will be my version of Vanderwood as seen in [Vanderwood Backstory](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/story-directory/vanderwood-backstory-mystic-messenger-fanfiction/) and an OC created by my best friend - you can read [Cerise's bio here](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/character-gallery/cerise-song-vanderwood/). This is legit my OTP #cherrywood for life, so I really hope you love this~ ~Let's Connect! FFC***

Why did it always have to take so fucking long for computers to transfer their files? Even with Seven’s modified flashdrives it could take eternity. Vanderwood was just waiting for the rest of the files about the different women this company held as ‘product’ to finish transferring. As far as missions went, this one was going pretty well. He’d infiltrated the place easily with Seven’s intel. Although, he couldn’t help that nagging feeling in the back of his mind. The last time they’d checked the security was a week ago.

That’s when he heard it, the telltale sound of guards making their way up the stairs. _Fuck_. How did they get tipped off? Maybe some sort of silent alarm had been installed since their last reconnaissance. Vanderwood had to think through his options fast. His heart was racing as he looked around the room, a familiar feeling that any other time, the adrenaline rush would relax his muscles, but right now he felt tense and sick. Brown eyes searched the room. There were two other doors in this room, one a fire escape that would set off an alarm and the other a lab that might not have another opening.

There were still five minutes for the documents to transfer, but now he could hear the footsteps reaching the landing he was on. How many were there? Judging from the sound, three or four. Vanderwood yanked the flashdrive from the computer and made a dash for the fire exit. God damn, that alarm was loud, but this was the safest option. He could hear one of the guards above calling for the others to “Move out!”

He scaled the side of the fire escape, dropping from one landing to grab the next until he made it to the ground and turned down an alleyway to head down into an empty street. _Fuck, fuck, fuck_. He had to find somewhere to hide and fast. Vanderwood could still hear the guards coming, so he was again, stuck trying to think fast.

Up ahead, he caught sight of a moving truck and a young woman carrying some boxes into an apartment. Perfect. He’d just have to get her to agree. Vanderwood was pretty good with women, so it couldn’t possibly be that hard. In fact, he had a bit of a reputation as a womanizer thanks to his addiction. Still, this was a civilian. Granted, he often slept with civilian women too, but there was a much higher risk, especially if he was spending more than just the time it took to sleep with them. At any rate, there weren’t many other options available.

Vanderwood launched himself into the moving truck as she entered her new place, waiting for the girl to come out again with his hip leaned against the wall as he worked on catching his breath. It seemed the men following him had turned down the other side of the alley first, but he had no doubt they would be coming this way before too long. He realized he should remove his gloves and jacket. If he was going to pretend to be her moving crew, that only made sense. Setting them aside on a box, he looked through the door to her apartment which was propped open. It seemed like a nice little place, and certainly a good cover as long as the girl didn’t raise any problems.

***

Cerise felt nervous about moving back to Korea after so many years, especially without her parents. She had convinced herself that she needed to break away for a bit, out from under the watchful eyes of her parents – cutting the umbilical cord, so to speak. They’d given her a good amount of money to get a start in her new life until she could find a job on her own, but that wouldn’t be for a while…Not that she was really complaining.

Here she was, in a new place, a new environment where she knew nobody, and where she had to move her own boxes. Most of them were as big as she was! Cerise huffed, struggling to move another particularly large box from her living room to the kitchen where it belonged. After finally managing what seemed like a super human feat, she dropped the box and panted. This would be the perfect opportunity for a selfie, as miserable as she was.

She took out her phone and snapped a quick picture, making sure she looked extra miserable before she put a bunch of cute filters on with the caption, ‘not cut out for physical labor sum1 save me );’ There. That would do it! Within moments of posting it, her phone pinged multiple times. _Back to the grind…_ Cerise headed back outside and was surprised to find a man leaning against the inside of her moving truck. “Hey!” She called out to him, opting to stay in the safety of her doorway. “Can I…help you?” The guy looked like he was probably twice her size!

“Hey!’ Vanderwood put on the nicest smile he could manage. She seemed a little wary, rightfully so. This girl was incredibly small in comparison to him, and the fact was that he was probably pretty intimidating. He approached slowly so as to not freak her out. “I have a proposition for you. I need to hide, and you need your boxes moved into your house.” Vanderwood took in her appearance. She was actually pretty cute, her long light red hair, auburn? Was that the word? Peach. That was it. And her eyes were a beautiful golden color. His smile became a little more genuine. “I’ll help you with moving in your boxes if you do me one favor. Whoever comes knocking, whatever happens, you tell them I’ve been here for at least an hour.”

He was trying to be as charming as possible, but it only made sense for her to accept his offer. It looked like she would have trouble moving in all those boxes by herself, particularly the ones that looked like they were as big as she was. What was she anyway, maybe five foot? At any rate, his offer didn’t have much downfall for her. “The name’s Vanderwood, and no, you’re not going to get arrested for helping me out.” There was a high likelihood that the guards would be chasing down this street any minute now, so he grabbed a particularly large box with ease and hoisted it carefully over his shoulder. “Just free labor.”

“Hide…?” She’d repeated the word as she listened to the rest of his proposition. The man…Vanderwood, seemed pretty sincere. Cerise watched in awe as he lifted a box with no trouble at all. In any other circumstance, she would probably tell him to beat it, but he obviously needed help and so did she if she wanted to be done moving in any time soon. “I’ll take you up on your offer.” She slowly walked towards him, still a little wary, picking up a smaller box that she could easily handle on her own. “After you, Mister Vanderwood.” Letting someone play hide and seek in her house was a small price to pay for free labor…and by someone so handsome too! She grinned at her luck.

Vanderwood felt incredibly relieved, surprisingly so. He should be feeling anxious still that he was involving a civilian, but the guards wouldn’t do anything to her most likely…Well, he wouldn’t let them do anything to her. A little spark of anger went through him at the thought. Usually he was protective of civilians, but that was just a part of his job, staying covert with little effect to bystanders. Really, if it came down to it, he was supposed to avoid revealing his skills to bystanders too, even if that meant not saving them, but he wasn’t that kind of guy.

He made his way into her house, needing to duck under her doorway thanks to his height. Being six foot wasn’t the easiest thing in Korea, since most people tended to be at least half a foot shorter than him. That was the fun part about being American born in an Asian country. He looked around the apartment. There weren’t many boxes in there, so obviously she’d either just started moving her boxes or his help was sorely needed. “Just tell me where to put it, short stuff.” It wasn’t really a bad nickname for her, and he didn’t know what else to call her.

“I think that one goes in the kitchen.” Cerise called out to him as she broke off to drop her box in her would-be bedroom. _Short stuff, huh?_ She laughed to herself; she’d certainly been called worse. Peeking her head out of the room, she took her phone out and snapped a quick picture of the strange man while he wasn’t looking, tagging the picture with, ‘look!! My savior~  >///<!’ before posting it. She put her phone away and walked back out to join him in her kitchen. “So…how long do you need to hide out for?”

Vanderwood had placed the box down carefully, brushing some dust off his shirt. Something in his periphery made him pause. Was that her phone? After turning, she was already back in the other room. Maybe he was just paranoid? Not likely. Her question had him shrugging, rubbing the back of his head. “I’m not really sure, but I’ll stay until your truck is empty as thanks.” Until the truck was empty? That sounded amazing to her ears. “Than-“ her words were cut off by someone knocking and appearing in her doorway. Cerise wasn’t really sure what else to do, so she went towards the door as though to answer it, even though it was open and there were now other people standing in her doorway.

He was preparing to pry as toward what she’d been doing with her phone, a security risk wouldn’t be good along with an incomplete mission, but he’d heard the sound of someone knocking on her doorway too and decided to keep quiet to survey the situation.

Three suited guards were standing in the doorway, looking far more official than he did. They were clearly sizing him up, and he casually stretched, placing his hand near his taser strapped to his thigh. The girl had approached the three, causing Vanderwood just a brief and unusual moment of panic. She was looking to him for a cue as to what to do. At least it gave Vanderwood the opportunity to approach the men too, head tilted in false intrigue and a smile on his face. “Hi there, can we help you with something?”

The biggest of the three nodded before starting to speak. “We’re looking for a man who ran off, probably down this street. Did either of you see anything?” His eyes and those of his buddies were clearly taking note of everything about Vanderwood, trying to discern whether he was the one they were looking for. Vanderwood looked towards the girl with false concern as he angled his body to stay between her and the men. “I’ve just been helping my girlfriend move in, and I didn’t see anything. Did you happen to see anything, hon?”

At least Cerise’s look of confusion was genuine, although she did get the picture as the men talked. She wrapped her arm around Vanderwood’s waist, clutching onto him as if she were worried or scared. “How suspicious…I haven’t seen anyone like that, dear.” She averted her eyes to the ground, feigning worry. “I hope they find him soon.”

He pulled her closer to his side, feeling blush rising in his face. She was so warm against him. This girl’s acting was damn convincing. Vanderwood mentally slapped himself to pay better attention. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ll keep you safe.” His eyes flitted to the three men in the doorway. “I’m sorry we’re not much help…But if we see anything, do you have a number we should call?” The biggest of the three who had spoken earlier nodded towards one of the others who reached out to place a card into Vanderwood’s outstretched hand. After the card was in Vanderwood’s hand, the big one grunted before gesturing to the others to leave the doorway.“Thank you for your help, nonetheless.”

Cerise let out a breath she forgot she was holding once the men were gone. “Homigod that was intense…” She looked up at Vanderwood and examined him briefly now that she had front row seats. He really was handsome…more so than she realized before. Vanderwood didn’t let go of her at first, marveling a little at how she fit in so perfectly under his arm. He wasn’t used to that at all. Most of the women he met were just one night stands he didn’t pay attention to, and generally women had no effect on him, but this one was damn… _cute._ Vanderwood frowned at himself and finally stepped away, wild blush in his face. “Hey…thanks, short stuff.”

She was almost disappointed when he moved away and she couldn’t admire his face anymore without being painfully obvious. Vanderwood noted the little look of disappointment that crossed her face with a raised eyebrow before she had him blushing like a maniac again. “ _Hey_ ” she mocked him, “No problem.” Cerise poked him in the chest for emphasis before she headed towards the door again. “Think it’s safe to go back out now, _hon?_ ”

The girl was even spunkier than he had expected from someone so small, and that poke to the chest only made his blush worse. He was thankful that she had turned around to head out the door. Why was he reacting to her like this? Likely it was just because she was the first woman he was spending time with that he didn’t intend to sleep with. “Yeah, probably safer for my cover anyway.”

There was a possibility that the three men were still watching, if he’d been the only person they’d run into that raised their suspicions it was a possibility. Plus, he’d promised to stay until the truck was empty. He shrugged and followed her out, grabbing another of the larger boxes. “So…do you mind if I make a phone call once I get this box in?” Checking in with Seven was the next priority, since the plan hadn’t exactly gone…as planned. He was already overdue to update the redhead.

Cerise picked up another of the smaller boxes, walking a little closer to him than she’d dared before. “Phone call?” She clicked her tongue, looking a little worried. “I dunno…As long as you’re not calling other women~ You wouldn’t want to break my heart now, would you?” Giggling, she headed inside with her box. This was the first person she’d really met since she came back to Korea…so what in seven Hells was she even doing!? Flirting with a stranger?? A potentially shady one at that?? As soon as she got inside, she put the box down and walked into the bathroom to splash a little water on her face and looked into the mirror. Oh God, she was blushing. She facepalmed and groaned, mumbling to herself. “Why are you like this, Cerise…”

Vanderwood couldn’t help but nearly choke on air as she teased him relentlessly, barely managing to get the box he was carrying down in the living room before stumbling. His heart was a mess of flutters and he was so confused. Had he breathed something in in that building? “I wouldn’t dream of breaking your heart.” That was true; he didn’t break hearts, because he never got attached. Well, maybe for a few crazies, but that wasn’t his fault. Vanderwood couldn’t let himself keep fawning over her like this. He was going to have to clear out that truck fast. But first, Calling Seven. Once she was out of sight, he leaned his hip against the wall and called the redhead, pushing his bangs back like he always did when he was on the phone.

“Your lazy ass almost got me killed. The douche had a silent alarm installed since last week.” The redhead, for once, wasn’t laughing as Vanderwood chided him. When they worked, Seven was usually at least in a no nonsense mode, which made life easier. “I told you we should have done another sweep last night.” Now the redhead was asking if Vanderwood had actually managed to get what they were looking for. “Yeah, I got most of the documents. Hopefully it’ll be enough to end the trafficking ring.” Vanderwood was trying to be quiet even as disgust curled into his voice.

Granted, Vanderwood was a part of the sex scene. His addiction had him frequenting escort services, but he was always certain that those women were fully consenting adults, not kidnapped immigrants like this scumbag organization they were attempting to take down. At least the girl wouldn’t have much to go off of with only half of a conversation, but Vanderwood wasn’t going to say much more, he couldn’t let her get more involved with him than she already had.

Seven noticed the silence and asked if he was with someone. “Yeah, just a uh…a girl.” There was a pause as the redhead half-teased and half-scolded him. “No, I’m not having sex with her, you prick!” She uh…just helped me out.” Did he hear her coming back out? “I’m going to do her a favor real quick, and then I’ll be back to your place with the flashdrive.” He hung up as the redhead started going on about using protection. That was _his_ line anyway.

Cerise slapped her cheeks lightly to help herself snap out of it and dabbed her face with a fluffy towel before looking at herself in the mirror again and messing with her hair a bit. She needed to look good for any impromptu selfies. Speaking of which…Cerise thought she could hear him talking. Something about documents and rings? Was he…a _jewel thief_? Probably not…that was only in the movies.

She popped her head out of the bathroom, and it supplied her with a rather pleasant view of him leaning against her wall rather…photogenically. This was obviously the perfect time for a picture! After making sure her flash was off, she sneakily snapped another picture of her ‘savior,’ adding the caption ‘he can call me any time ^3~’ After hitting send, she slowly walked out of the bathroom now that he seemed to have ended his call.

He sighed as he pushed away from the wall, tucking his phone into his pocket. His muscles were so taut and tense after that phone call and knowing they’d probably get shit from the agency. Vanderwood needed a cigarette, and a good fuck wouldn’t be a bad idea either. When missions went wrong, he always got stressed. The adrenaline rush from running away from potential death wasn’t satisfying like the rush of success.

His brown eyes met the golden ones of the girl as he turned his head. She was really cute, rather beautiful really, although she wasn’t his regular type. What the Hell was he comparing her to his type for? He wasn’t going to sleep with her. She’d already spent far too much time with him as it was, and he almost felt guilty for thinking about her like that. “Alright, I’m all yours until that truck’s empty.” Vanderwood made his way back out to grab another box, not wanting to spend too much more time interacting with her...well a part of him did, but that wasn’t good.

“Sounds great, handsome~” She laughed and winked at him, leading them outside again. _Whywhywhywhywhy_ Cerise repeated it in her head over and over, a furious blush on her face. Why did she keep doing this if all it did was fluster her!? She made a point to conceal her face when she could, grabbing smaller boxes and moving quickly. _Gotta get that cardio in somehow…_ After passing him a few times wordlessly, she couldn’t help but note that he was handling those boxes like a champ. Cerise took another opportunity to snap a candid photo of him as he carried in the last particularly large box, making sure to catch herself in the photo too. She smiled and flashed a cute peace sign in the frame. ‘#whatagentleman +A+’

Vanderwood was used to being called handsome, it was a pretty regular thing for him really, but when she said it, his face had turned a whole new shade of red. He’d coughed and grabbed another huge box to hide behind. She was really something else. Vanderwood thought he detected a blush on her face as well as she hid behind smaller boxes. Really something else…adorable…beautiful…Where the Hell was his head going? He shook his thoughts away and focused on moving boxes.

Finally, after an hour or so, the truck was empty. Vanderwod was incredibly relieved and yet also a little…He wasn’t sad, but maybe he was feeling regret? That was weird. It was stupid too. There were no options, he couldn’t bring her anywhere nearer to his life than he already had, but for the first time in his life, he actually wanted to give a girl his number.

Cerise looked at the empty cabin with a slight disappointment. Well…she figured that maybe it was enough excitement for one day anyways. She had an apartment to put together. The man, Vanderwood, had been a huge help. By morning the truck driver would be there to pick it up. Cerise jumped up to reach the handle to close the back, Vanderwood snorting softly as she struggled in the air for a moment before the door finally slid down along with her. Curse her height…She made her way back to Vanderwood, dusting off the skirt she was wearing. “Thanks…I’m Cerise by the way. Cerise Song.” Cerise smiled and patted his arm. “I just moved here from Paris.”

He’d tensed only just a little at the unwanted touch before he felt a hard pang in his chest. “Oh good, you finally trust me with your name.” The name wouldn’t do him any good. He couldn’t see her again. This was one of the strangest moments of his life, because he fucking wanted to see her again. Something in him wanted her around. A regular woman and not one of his whores. That was a dream too good to be true, though. “Well, Cerise…Maybe I’ll see you around.” Empty promise; he couldn’t. Lying made his gut twist, but he didn’t have a choice.

He looked down at her, eyes locking for a few seconds, but those seconds felt like minutes. Vanderwood just couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. Then he bit his tongue, effectively breaking whatever the Hell spell it was keeping him there, grabbed his jacket and gloves and was out of there quickly, running down the street again like he had been earlier. This time he wasn’t running from anyone chasing him, although it felt like it.

When their eyes had locked, the only way Cerise knew how to describe it was intense. It was the first time she’d ever experienced that, and the feeling was…strange? She couldn’t put a finger on it. Before she even had a chance to react, he was gone. Cerise had meant to possibly ask him for his number, but she never got the chance to. She sighed and went inside her apartment. It was getting cold out, and she certainly wasn’t dressed for that kind of weather. “This is such a great start to my new life here…” She mumbled to herself.

At least if every day was as exciting as today had been, she would never be bored, and she hated to be bored. Her honey-colored eyes scanned her new apartment. There was a mess of boxes everywhere. “Time to get to work if I plan on sleeping.” Before she got started, she prepared to take what seemed like the hundredth selfie that day chronicling her first day in her new home. She posed herself in front of all the boxes, making sure to put on a sad pouty face. ‘vanderhottie left )’: #time2get2work’ It seemed her followers on social media were simply _eating up_ her posts that day. Cerise dug through a box to throw on some pajamas, deeming them more comfortable to unpack in than being dressed up.

 Vanderwood didn’t even bother to take the bus when he reached a stop. He ran the whole way home, thankful for the distraction. The small adrenaline rush was at least something to take his mind off that beautiful smile. _Damn._ He couldn’t stop thinking about her. What was this? Why was he like this? Vanderwood wanted to turn around and find her again, pick her up and kiss her. His addiction coupled with meeting a regular person probably.

He shook his head and leaned against Seven’s door, the metal cold against his forehead before he took out his cigarettes and popped one in his mouth. How had he managed without them for so long? Vanderwood groaned and lit the thing, taking long drags. What he really needed right now was a good fuck, but thinking about Cerise had him feeling…guilty about that. Something was seriously wrong with him.

(Learn about hidden scene 'Cerise Backstory' on my website.)

Check out my website. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	2. The Long Road Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cerise is put in danger by Vanderwood having helped her to move into her house, and now they begin a long road they didn't know they'd have to take.

***It's about to get Hella intense in here, so everybody buckle up. There's a new hidden scene - Drawl Backstory which you can learn about on my website linked at the end of the chapter. ~Let's Connect! FFC***

Why could he never get a full night’s sleep? Vanderwood had of course trained himself to be a light sleeper, so clearly _that_ was why, but it never ceased to annoy him just how often something would wake him at night. This time it was his phone buzzing like crazy. He rolled over to grab it, expecting it to be from boss, only to unlock the screen to find a slurry of texts, screenshots of photos of him, and one with Cerise with him in the background.

His internal dialogue was _Fuck._ She _had_ been taking photos after all. He’d noticed but had completely forgotten about it again, a huge mistake. The screenshots themselves weren’t the worst of it. There were comments from the unknown sender. ‘She’s got such pretty eyes, pity if I were to pour acid into them?’ ‘Look at those fingers, just begging to be bent back.’ ‘This is what you get for getting attached, Vanderhottie.’

Vanderwood felt sick, but instantly he knew who these messages were from. Drawl. (Get Drawl Backstory, learn how through my website, linked below.) He was up and getting changed in mere seconds, running out of the room to grab one of Seven’s keys, not bothering to take the time to ask. If Drawl had Cerise…he didn’t want to think about it, and he certainly didn’t have much time. The guy was a sociopath. From the information the agency had, he’d even murdered his own family just to become an agent for the rival agency. (insert Drawl Backstory hidden scene) What was worse, Vanderwood had shot the guy in the shoulder and completely shattered it. Drawl wasn’t exactly known for being forgiving.

He was panicking, speeding down the highway to the address Drawl had screenshotted from Cerise’s geotags. This was all his fault, and he couldn’t let her get hurt. Cerise was just a civilian, one that wasn’t supposed to be involved in this shit at all, but look how the cookies had crumbled. She shouldn’t have been in his life for even a second.

***

Drawl smirked, this was going to be _so much fun_. Vanderwood deserved it too. It had taken months for Drawl’s shattered shoulder to heal. The lock was easy to pick, nothing to it. Such a nice little apartment Vanderwood’s sweetie had. The girl wasn’t hard to find, sleeping soundly in her bed.

Well, she had been sleeping soundly until Drawl pressed his hand down over her mouth and nose, watching her struggle for air for a while. All Cerise knew was that _she could not breathe_. She struggled against her attacker, and she so desperately wanted to scream, but couldn’t. He was feeling his pants grow tight from the image. Watching the panic, seeing the life leave a woman’s eyes was always great, oh, it was _great_. He disappointedly removed his hand from her face to allow her to grab some gasps of air as he pressed a knife against her side to keep her still and under his control.

Cerise wasn’t sure how long she was deprived of air, but it seemed like an eternity. As soon as the hand came off, she gasped for air, breathing heavily. Her blood ran cold, senses coming back to her once she felt the cold touch of the blade against her side. Normally she would fight, but there was nothing she could do with a knife pressed against her. She had only just started breathing again, but she was choked with fear now.

He wasn’t a weak man, far from it. Some likened him to a chimp or an orangutan because of his thick body and square features. Still, it was easier if they didn’t fight him openly, and much more fun to watch them struggle aimlessly. The fear in their eyes was always most intoxicating. It was just unfortunate that he couldn’t feel their soft skin anymore, thanks to the way his acids had burned away the sensations in his fingers. It was well worth it to have acid covered blades to cut with. That always kept them from bleeding out.

His slow and deliberate tone as he bent to mutter in the girl’s ear gave away the reason for his nickname. “Hello, sweetheart, we’re going to play a game.” That voice, even just the sound of her attacker speaking was enough to make her feel nauseous. Drawl took his time in tying her up, Cerise struggling lightly. It wouldn’t do her any good, she was too small to do any real damage to the man.

Right now, the only thing she could do was observe him, as much as even his person was repulsive. His dark black hair was a greasy mess, peppered with gray although he didn’t look old. Even his eyes were black, glinting with an intent that made her entire body feel cold. Now he was sitting on the edge of her couch, playing with the point of his knife against his thumb. Just his clothes were enough to make someone uncomfortable, an oversized puke green jacket, brown pants, and black combat boots clearly meant to make him appear taller. The man’s skin was a dark brown, but his hands were discolored as well as discolored splotches on his wrists.

Drawl’s voice broke her observation, making her whimper. “Do you think your Vanderhottie will come quickly enough to save your pretty little lips? I might just cut them off…and he’d never get to kiss them then, would he?” Who was this guy even talking about Vander…oh. The man from earlier. She started to cry and plead. “No, I really don’t know him, please. My…my parents are rich…is… _is it money you want?_ ” Now she was sobbing, her voice broken. Cerise wished that she would have just listened to her parents and stayed in France where it was safe.

He snorted at the girl. She thought money mattered. Although, he was disappointed when she said she really didn’t know Vanderwood. The one good thing was that Vanderwood was the kind of guy who would do anything to protect a civilian, so he’d still come. The revenge wouldn’t be nearly as sweet, but he could always have his way with the girl afterwards. His slow voice held a snide tone as he replied to her desperate pleas. “Money doesn’t matter to me. I have plenty. Revenge, blood, people screaming in fear, that’s what I like. Speaking of…” He took out his phone and snapped a photo, captioning it ‘Hurry.’

***

His phone was buzzing again; he was almost there. It seemed like it was taking far too long to get there, even driving as fast as he was. Vanderwood risked checking his phone and his heart was at his feet, fear like a living thing in his chest. Seeing Cerise like that…This was his fault, and he had to get there in time to keep her from getting hurt. _If she’s not already._ The thought had him practically pressing the accelerator to the floor.

***

This had to be a dream…These kinds of things just didn’t happen in real life. _Only on TV_. She was brought back to reality as her attacker approached her, pressing the cool metal of his knife against her throat, a light burning sensation accompanying it. “I think I hear our Vanderhottie friend…” Drawl’s typically slow voice was dragging out even more as his smile spread wide. Cerise didn’t dare to make a noise or even to breathe too hard, fearful for her throat and her life.

Vanderwood realized quickly as he parked that his taser would do him no good since Drawl’s weapon of choice was also close range. He reached under the driver’s seat to grab the emergency gun stashed there. Thankfully, there was on in each of Seven’s cars as well as the ones he had on his own body. As soon as he had the weapon, Vanderwood nearly jumped out of the vehicle, kicking her door open, allowing him to keep use of his weapon, quickly scanning the room to point it at Drawl. Cerise desperately wanted to feel relieved as soon as she saw the source of the crashing, but there was still a knife to her throat, making her panic.

That knife against her throat had Vanderwood panicking every bit as much as she was. It was an unfamiliar feeling to him, true panic. He hadn’t felt fear like that in years. It nearly had him doing something rash, but he couldn’t afford to have feelings right now. “Leave her the fuck alone. She’s got nothing to do with me or you.” He was angry, pissed really, wanted to beat Drawl into a bloody pulp, but he had to get his hands on the smiling bastard first. “Didn’t you hear me? Get the fuck away from her. She’s a civilian, you ass.”

Drawl still wasn’t moving. He just kept smiling more and more, watching like he liked to. Vanderwood realized that clearly this wasn’t working. The feelings swirling around inside of him had his muscles taught and tensed, and they weren’t helping his focus. He took a deep breath, shoving them away. Finally, he looped the gun around his thumb, pulling his taser out of his pocket with his other hand to drop it to the floor. “Just step away from her, and you can have me. That’s what you want. You know you can’t touch her without your agency punishing you.”

Now Drawl finally moved, pulling away from Cerise to stand and approach Vanderwood. Cerise felt like she could finally breathe again once the knife was away from her throat, but all she could do now was watch the scene in front of her unfold, unable to move. She felt so useless, she couldn’t even call the authorities. That gave her an idea. She glanced over at her nightstand. Good, her phone was still there. Her attacker was advancing towards Vanderwood as she attempted to wiggle free from the rope binding her.

“I guess you are right…as much as I’d love to scar that pretty little skin.” The man’s voice made her skin crawl as she continued to attempt to reach her phone. Drawl was approaching Vanderwood warily. He was too short to reach the gun looped around Vanderwood’s thumb, so Vanderwood had to lower it for him. Drawl pressed his blade against the lower left side of the taller man’s abdomen, letting it press in just slightly, using his blade again for some leverage. Cerise had looked over from her attempts just in time to see it, causing her to gasp in surprise. Still, Vanderwood seemed to be taking it well enough. 

The only reaction Vanderwood gave was a sharp intake of breath as the blade pierced him, acid burning and instantly cauterizing the wound. He knew what he needed to do. Although Vanderwood wasn’t fast, Drawl was even slower, and he was able to grab the man’s wrist, letting the blade press in even farther in favor of grabbing Drawl’s throat, squeezing his wrist until Drawl couldn’t hold on to the knife anymore. It clattered to the floor as Vanderwood applied the same treatment to his neck. Cerise had never seen anything like this, and she watched as he gained the upper hand over her attacker. She wanted to look away, she really did, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the scene. Then the man went limp in Vanderwood’s grasp. Was he dead?

Vanderwood grimaced at Drawl as he dropped him onto the ground. The creep’s smile hadn’t faltered the entire time. He didn’t have much time now, knowing that Drawl had a partner. How had he even been alone here in the first place? It didn’t matter; time was of the essence. Vanderwood moved to untie Cerise, and that was what finally made her able to tear her eyes away from the scene, jumping a little at his voice, even though it was far more welcome than the voice of the other man. “I’m not going to hurt you, alright? But you’re going to have to trust me, because I need to get you out of here.” He was trying to keep his tone as calm and even as possible, even though he was irritated and panicked beyond belief. She wasn’t used to these kinds of experiences, so he had to be gentle. “If Drawl was here, backup isn’t far behind, so we need to leave fast.” Cerise nodded, her voice still shaky. “O-okay…” As soon as she was free from the ropes, she made a grab for her phone, yanking the charger out of the wall.

Irritation was very much his enemy at the moment as he snorted at that damn phone of hers. He was going to have to take it from her later, but now he needed to get them out of there. “The black car outside, get in.” His tone was brusque because it had to be. Drawl needed to be dealt with permanently, and it was always his disgusting job to take care of that. Vanderwood grabbed the gun and taser before returning to look down at Drawl’s limp body.

She did as she was told, not wanting to stick around and tempt fate. Cerise shivered as she felt the nighttime winter air hit her skin, making her way to the black car and quickly hopping in. Her bare feet felt like ice cubes. Was she really going to let this stranger take her away from her apartment? He _had_ just saved her life, even if it sounded like he’d been somewhat the reason she was in trouble anyway, but she trusted him. She had to…and there was just something about him that she couldn’t quite shake.

Vanderwood was bending down to finish the job when he heard it, the sound of another vehicle’s brakes grinding the car to a halt. Damn it. He was out of time. Vanderwood ran out of the house to see Jessica on the way out of her car. He flipped her off before hopping into his, putting pedal to the metal. “Hang on, Cerise.” There wasn’t even time to put his seatbelt on before they were peeling off away from the scene.

Cerise held on to the ceiling handle tightly as soon as he’d gotten into the car, although she hadn’t managed to put her seatbelt on either. He was driving like a bat out of Hell, but she couldn’t really complain. She just wanted away from the man that had attacked her, silently staring out of the window and trying to make sense of everything in her head.

He was focused on getting away and to Seven’s garage, running through an action plan as he went. They would need to switch cars and head out of town to lie low somewhere. She was in far more danger than any civilian ever should be, and there was a lot of guilt there, but he didn’t have time for it right now. Thankfully, his go bag was already in the red car, so they could switch over pretty quickly. His eyes searched the rearview mirror to see that no one was tailing them, allowing him to slow down and drive far more legally.

She was quiet, reflective even, as he watched her from the corner of his eyes. This was probably the biggest shock of her life, and he had done this to her. Cerise was thinking, why her? What luck was this? Her phone made her jump when she felt it vibrate in her lap. Vanderwood watched as she put in her pass code and immersed herself in the world of what he assumed was social media. Her fingers were tapping at her phone’s screen at an alarming speed. She was clearly freaked out, it was only too obvious. On one side, he wanted to destroy her phone since it and his stupidity had gotten them into this mess, but on the other, it seemed to be helping her, somewhat of an escape, which he only understood all too well.

He sighed and bit his tongue before he began to speak, feeling like the words needed to be said, like he was compelled to comfort her. “I’m sorry…I got you into this. But I’ll keep you safe, I swear to God, I will.” He felt like complete shit for doing this to her, and although he didn’t trust any God, he would swear to all of them just to make the point to her that he was going to protect her. She was under his protection now, even though she shouldn’t have had to be.

Cerise looked up when Vanderwood spoke, not really knowing how to respond. Keep her safe? Were there more of those creeps…? “Are they…will they just leave you…us alone?” He had to shake his head at her question, as much as he wished he could just drop her off back at home and she would be fine, it simply wasn’t the case. “We’re going to have to go on the run until I can backtrack them or they find us, and I terminate them. Undoubtedly, Drawl’s got a hit out on me now…the guy that attacked you. I didn’t have time to take care of him before his partner showed up.”

Take care of him? So, the guy wasn’t dead, but Vanderwood _had_ intended to kill him. The thought made her shiver more than the cool air did. Vanderwood thought that all of that was probably terrifying enough to listen to, and he didn’t want her to be afraid of him, but it felt wrong not to be honest. She had her eyes trained on him, listening intently as he talked. “I’m a secret agent. They’re from a rival agency. They found pictures of you and me on the internet and used the geotags to find you. So…until they’re dead, I’m going to take care of you.” It wasn’t up for debate, not that he thought she was going to argue.

Vanderwood pulled into Seven’s garage. It only made sense that Cerise was terrified, and he was going to need to be a little gentler than his usual to make her able to trust him, so he did his best not to sound gruff, as much as he was tense and frustrated. “Stay in this car until I say to move, alright?”

Cerise couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt as she thought over what he’d said, staying in the car as he’d instructed and fiddling with her phone to pass the time. The pictures…this was her fault. It’s not like she knew that he was a secret agent, though, that wasn’t something that came up in real life…being tied up by a psycho, running into secret agents. Did that mean…she had to be on the run for a while? With him? In any normal circumstance, she’d be all for a road trip…and with a cute guy, no less. This wasn’t that situation, though.

He tried not to take too long as he went inside to exchange keys, grabbing the ones for the red car. Vanderwood harshly woke Seven and explained the situation, getting the kid to begrudgingly agree to loan him the red car mostly because they didn’t have much time to figure out anything else. Then Vanderwood returned to the garage, opening the door for her. “Alright, we’re moving to the red car.” He offered his hand to help her out. It was hurting him so badly that this was happening. She was just a normal person; she wasn’t a part of this, and he’d made her a part of it.  

She hesitated before taking his hand, letting him help her out of the car. As soon as her bare feet hit the cold concrete she remembered again that she hadn’t grabbed shoes…or clothes for that matter. Clutching her phone, she looked down. Yep. Still in her pajamas. In the wintertime. Good job, Cerise! She wanted to slap herself for not thinking to at least grab her coat by the door.

Vanderwood finally took stock of her clothes when he saw her react to the cold concrete floor and heat instantly went up into his face. She wasn’t even his ‘type’ and yet his heart was doing gymnastics as he looked at her. Her ‘pajamas’ were just a pink flowy tank top and shorts combination, the top not quite fully covering her midriff. His face turned bright red as he took off his jacket and draped It over her shoulders gently. “Wear this until the car heats up…” The red-faced agent opened the passenger side of the red vehicle for her. “I’ll get you some new clothes to wear once we get to the next town.” He’d also need to take care of her damn phone, sooner rather than later.

His jacket was _huge_ on her, as well as heavy. It might as well have been a blanket, but she was grateful for it either way. She wrapped it around herself as she got into the other car. “Thanks.” The promise of new clothes was another thing she was grateful for. Cerise definitely didn’t want to be seen in public with just her pajamas on…even if she _did_ look amazingly cute in them. Still not something she should be seen in public in.

Once he’d helped her into the car, Vanderwood got in and started it up, letting it get going on warming up. They didn’t have a lot of time before he was certain the rival agency would have people watching traffic cam footage and potentially trailing them, but the geotags on her social media needed to be turned off before she had the chance to post again. She needed a new ip address too. “I need you to hand me your phone.” Vanderwood was gentle and matter of fact about it as he held out his hand expectantly.

“My phone…?” She stared at him blankly. He wanted her phone? _That_ wasn’t going to happen. Her phone was a part of her, and she wasn’t about to hand it over to someone she barely knew. “You mean this?” Cerise kept eye contact with him as she pulled her phone into his eyesight, letting him get a good look at it before defiantly shoving the phone into her shorts, beneath the strap of her panties. If he wanted her phone, he was going to have to work for it.

Holy Jesus his face was red, and he felt like a complete mess. There was no way he could put his hand down her shorts. Hell, he wasn’t even sure with as irritated as he was that he could control himself right now. That defiance was…sexy…coming from this cute little lady, and he had to shut down his brain. Vanderwood coughed softly, shaking his head to clear it of any dirty thoughts before he could explain, trying to reason with her. “I need to give you a new one, and in order to move all your information to the new one, I’m going to need the old one. Need to turn off your geotags too. So, you give me the phone, or they find us. Every second we wait, the more danger we’re in.” Hopefully that would be enough to get through to her on some level.

“I don’t want a new one. Find another way.” Cerise huffed and turned her head away from him, crossing her arms. She knew that judging by how red he had turned, he wasn’t about to reach into her shorts to grab her phone. If he was _that_ serious about it, he would find another way around it, because there was no way in Hell she was giving _anyone_ her phone. She may be in danger, but her phone _was_ her life.  

Vanderwood internally groaned. Cerise was going to test his patience during this whole situation, he had a feeling. She looked cute, but she was definitely a lot more than that. “And I don’t want to die.” He had to think fast on how he could get her to agree willingly. Her phone seemed pretty new, but hadn’t a new model just come out? He seemed to remember Seven going on about the new capabilities of some smart phone. “How about, I buy you any model phone you want, with whatever accessories?” That would probably peak her interest.

He was right. _That_ caught her attention, and she whipped her head back to him. “… _any_ model?” If he really meant that…she was going to go for the newer model of her phone that had just come out a few days prior. Cerise wasn’t able to get it due to budgeting, and she wanted to show her parents that she could be responsible with her money. Well…not that she’d have to worry about that _now_ since her purse was still at her apartment. She pulled her phone back out and handed it to him, lingering for a moment before she left her most prized possession with a total stranger. _This must be what mothers feel like when they leave their child in a daycare…_ ”You win…but you better make good on that promise.” She narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms again as though making a point.

That whole time he’d had to sit patiently and wait for her to deliberate while her phone was _right there_ for the taking. It wasn’t like him to be bashful with women, and he was anxious to get moving, but he just couldn’t do that with her. He rationalized to himself that it was because he knew he needed her trust. Finally, she handed it over. “I will, right after we get you some different clothes, we’ll get you a phone.”

As soon as he took her phone from her, his face grew red again. Even through his leather gloves, he could feel that her phone was warm from having been in her shorts. He coughed softly and got to work, grabbing a throw away from the glove compartment, easy enough to do when one’s arms were as long as his were. She was short enough that opening the compartment didn’t threaten her knees too, thankfully. After hooking the phones up to each other, he transferred everything before going through her apps, turning all of the geotags off. She had a shit ton of them, it was insane. Then he handed the throw away phone to her. “You can use this until we can get your new one. This one…” He wiggled her old phone. “Is getting thrown out the window on the way out of town. Buckle up.”

Cerise grimaced at the plain phone he had given her. It was so… _ugly_ and undecorated. “This isn’t cute at all…” She complained as she held it at arm’s length, examining it. When he mentioned throwing her phone out of the window, she winced, but it was for the better if she wanted a brand-new phone. Cerise would just have to deal with it, not think about it. She could do this. She could. Cerise buckled her seat belt and waited for them to leave. The car was getting warmer, which she was thankful for, and his jacket certainly helped.

Vanderwood mumbled what was meant to be an internal thought, thankful that it was hopefully quiet enough that she didn’t overhear. “Nowhere near as cute as you.” What the Hell was he doing flirting with her? He pulled out of Seven’s garage, heading on the way out of town. As he drove, he watched her out of the corner of his eyes. Cerise frowned at his mumbling. If he had something to say, he should say it, but she didn’t bother to say what she was thinking either, too worn out to care.

After a little while, Vanderwood deigned to speak, not sure why he wanted to. Small talk wasn’t exactly something he was very good at or used to. “I’m sorry if the jacket smells.” He’d been smoking so long that he was used to his own smell, but she probably wasn’t. Although he was very careful to keep his jacket clean and cared for, it probably had at least some residual scent of cigarettes. Cerise just shook her head before resting it against the window. “It’s not bad…” Her answer ended with a yawn. His jacket did smell a little like cigarette smoke, but she could tell that he took care of it.

The two of them sat in silence for a while, him watching her and her too tired to even check the phone or any of her social medias. Vanderwood was thinking just how incredibly beautiful she was…and how incredibly stupid it was for him to be thinking about that. This was going to be difficult for him. She made him feel way different than any other woman, and that might not bode well for staying unattached, even if he was convinced that it was just part of his sex addiction not having been assuaged for a while. At any rate, his job wouldn’t allow attachment, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t gotten her in enough trouble already, so Vanderwood was going to do his best to have as little contact with her as he could manage. Just enough to keep her safe. He also couldn’t report that he was with her at all. No, he was alone.

Cerise was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and this man went through all of that to rescue her, so she had no reason to believe he was of any threat, allowing her to relax for the time being. By now the car was toasty, and she pulled her legs up in the seat so she could cover herself completely in his jacket before she let sleep finally claim her.

She looked so small and peaceful sleeping curled up like that. He felt a strange tightness in his chest looking at her wrapped up in his jacket. Vanderwood realized that he should focus on the road, essentially giving himself tunnel vision other than checking the rearview mirrors for anyone potentially tailing them. Once they were about halfway to the next town, he tossed her phone out of the window and onto the side of the road. It wouldn’t be terribly long before they made it to the next town, but it felt like he had a long road ahead of him, at least figuratively.

Check out my website for more. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	3. Day One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood and Cerise spend their first day on the run together.

***So this is what it's like to be on the run with our favorite secret agent. =0 Special thanks to my official artist and best friend @chaoticstarblossoms on tumblr for this new cherrywood art which is absolutely amazing~~~~~ There is a deleted scene this week of Vandy picking out clothes for Cerise which you can learn more about that on my website, linked below.***

The first thing he’d done when they’d gotten to the next town over was find a clothing store that would suit her liking, which he figured meant pink, comfortable, and cute based on how she was dressed the day before and her pajamas now. He’d tried to wake her to get Cerise to go in, but she’d refused thanks to her current state of dress, and that had been the only reason he’d bothered going in for her. It was uncomfortable, in fact it was rather horrible.

Per Cerise’s suggestion, he’d talked to a sales woman about what to choose, but of course he’d ended up in the bra and panties aisle with the woman because, well, Cerise needed those items too. Thanks to his cover story, the woman had picked out a piece of lingerie too, which he tried not to imagine Cerise in as the woman said, ‘I’m sure your girlfriend wouldn’t mind you picking out something for yourself too.’ Vanderwood just shoved all of the clothes into the trunk, tucking a _specific_ clothing item into the far back of it, just like he was doing with his imagination.

It was a relief to him that Cerise didn’t start to wake up until after he’d gone to get her new phone too. When she was sleeping, she was much easier to manage, and she could apparently sleep harder than even Seven. Vanderwood could see her waking up now, though, but maybe that was a good thing, since it was time to find a hotel.

Cerise opened her eyes again slowly, adjusting them to the light. The road still passed by them as she tried to train her eyes on anything outside, hard to do when everything was moving. Instead, she turned her head and let her eyes focus on the man who was currently still driving. How long had it been? She noted that he didn’t look as intense, at least. Cerise yawned and stretched before sitting completely upright. “Morning.” She greeted him with a sleepy smile, rubbing at her eyes. Maybe she’d bug him soon to stop for coffee.

Vanderwood turned his head slightly to see her, a half smirk on his face. “Well, good morning, sleeping beauty.” What would have been and should have been a normal quip, made him feel red-faced and embarrassed. Normally he was so good with women, and it was really starting to bother him. Cerise’s sing song response wasn’t helping him any either. “Well, I have been told that I have quite the cute sleeping face.” Vanderwood was internally groaning again, taking a few minutes before he could talk. “I got your new phone. It’s in that bag on the floor, and when we get to the next town we’ll be staying at, I’ll transfer your files.” That came out normally, good.

Cerise had been taking his few minutes of silence to try and wake up, to process the events up until the current situation, but she perked up immediately at the mention of her new phone. Instantly she was grabbing at the bag, taking it out and examining it. “ _Oh my God!_ It’s actually the new model…Yes!” She began to chatter for the next few minutes about all the functions the phone had and how it would help her social media, how much higher quality the camera was and _all the new emojis and filters_. Cerise couldn’t wait until they finally got to the next town, and she could test out her new toy.

Vanderwood was absolutely stunned by her reaction. The way she reacted to a simple new phone was just…He wasn’t sure whether he was annoyed or endeared. On one hand, he should really be paying attention to make sure that no one was following them, but on the other hand, she was just so adorable talking about the new phone. His heart felt like it had grown wings and was going to fly away that he’d managed to make her so happy. Well, the phone had.

A sign welcoming them to the next town was what reminded him of what they needed to be doing. He had to choose their hotel, and get them checked in. It would be best if it were somewhere that people wouldn’t think for him to go, which gave him an idea. He interrupted her chatter, as much as he almost wanted to hear her go on and on about the phone for eternity. “Cerise, choose a hotel.”

“Wait, me? Well, okay, I guess.” Cerise looked around their immediate area, not bothering to look anything up on her phone. She didn’t want to waste time until she could get into her new phone and get it up and running. There was _so_ much to post about that it would probably take her upwards of two hours if she hurried. The throw away phone was pretty much useless to her. She just couldn’t do _anything_ with it. Cerise pointed to the first hotel that looked…not questionable. “That one looks nice, I think?” That and it looked like it had a restaurant attached to it, which was _great_ because she was starving and _really_ wanted coffee. What was he even looking for in a hotel anyway?

Vanderwood had to admit that the hotel she had chosen looked pretty decent. The best part really was that he hadn’t chosen it. That would slow Drawl and Jessica down as far as finding Cerise and him. Vanderwood found his way into the parking lot, realizing that Cerise still needed to change into some decent clothes. That meant they should probably start with checking into the hotel rooms first. Granted, he was starving, and she probably was too, but that would have to come after.

“Let’s change, check in, and go eat.” His mention of food was like music to Cerise’s ears, and she couldn’t wait to finally get out of the car, that and out of her pajamas to get into some real clothes. It was winter, after all. Vanderwood was apparently thinking about the same thing because he went to the trunk instead of around to the passenger side first. He figured she needed at least some shoes on now, so she wouldn’t have to walk through the parking lot and hotel bare foot.

Cerise was wondering what he was doing in the trunk, but didn’t have to wait long before he was opening the passenger side door, causing her to pull his jacket tighter around her against the cold winter air. Vanderwood handed her the shoes, which she slipped on happily. Thankfully the store he’d gone to seemed true to size because her feet fit perfectly.

Vanderwood had waited for her to put on the shoes before he took her hand to help her out of the car. Holding her hand, even though it was a perfectly normal action, seemed to make his face light up with red again. He coughed to clear his mind so that he could get his brain functioning properly in agent mode. “I’ll get the bags. We’re getting two rooms connected by a door.”

Cerise was thankful for his help, feeling rather stiff from all of her time spent curled up in the front seat. The moment he had taken her hand, though, her chest felt…fluttery? That was weird…His abrupt cough pulled her back to reality, and she looked up at him as he spoke. “Wow…You’re such a gentleman.” The praise had him just not able to process what she was saying as she turned to grab the two cellphones from the car so the files could be transferred later. “A gentleman _and_ good looking, you’re just the whole package, aren’t ya?” She was teasing him but also internally asking herself **_Why?_**

Vanderwood somehow managed a “Yup.” Even though his brain was on the fritz. He busied himself with grabbing their bags from the car and locking it before leading her to the entrance of the hotel. Cerise remained quiet, and the entire time he was checking them in, and he was berating himself for not knowing how to respond. His eye scanned constantly as he led her up to the hotel, unlocking her door for her.

“Just knock on our connected door when you’re ready, and we’ll head down together.” It was probably a little strange for her that he was keeping even her room key, but it was safer if he was in charge of her comings and goings. She took the bags that were meant for her, affirming to him that she was listening before disappearing into her own room.

Once he was in his room, he finally had a chance to just breathe and be alone. For the first time that day, he noticed the burning sensation in his abdomen. Everything going on had made him forget that, right, Drawl had stabbed him. He tugged off his shirt, going to the sink to examine the wound. It looked swollen and angry, cauterized instantly thanks to Drawl’s love for knives covered in acid, so at least there wasn’t blood to clean off. The acid did need to come off, though.

After quickly cleaning the cut with some items from his go bag kit, he changed into some normal looking clothes, a purple t-shirt and some jeans, putting his taser in his right pocket for easy access. He needed some comfort right now, but that didn’t mean he was going to go without his favorite weapon. Not that he didn’t have plenty others hidden on his person.

His entire body felt tense and not just from being in the car all day. A cigarette would have been a dream, but that wasn’t an option, and he had to avoid talking to others as much as possible, so getting his other fix wasn’t an option either. Just the thought of getting an escort with Cerise next door was making him feel a little guilty too. He was supposed to be protecting her, considering it was his fault she was in danger in the first place, so he shouldn’t even consider doing something so dangerous.

Cerise had dug through the bags Vanderwood had given her and laid out the new clothes she had received, trying to figure out what to wear. He really hadn’t done so bad picking stuff out, and she could definitely see herself wearing it. It didn’t take her long on deciding what she wanted, opting for a cute top and skirt that she threw a tan jacket over. There was even a matching scarf!

She changed out of her pajamas and into her new outfit to find that it was even really comfortable, much to her enjoyment. When she was satisfied with how she looked, she grabbed her phones, wanting him to make good on transferring the files as soon as possible, and knocked on their connecting doors. “Hey! I’m ready now!” She called out, the last part she emphasized in a sing-song voice. She was not only excited for food but also for her brand-new phone.

As soon as Vanderwood heard Cerise’s voice, he went to open the door only for another shock to his system. Sure, he’d picked out her clothes, even imagined her wearing them, thanks brain, but they were even better actually on her. Vanderwood was certain he was going insane. He couldn’t possibly _like_ this woman, could he? She was nothing like his sexual type, and she was certainly nothing like him. He was cold and brusque and she was lively and excitable. He had to shake his head to clear it.

Cerise was confused as Vanderwood just kind of…stared at her? Her face started to turn red, but she narrowed her eyes and stared back defiantly. He was incredibly attractive, she’d noticed before, but it was impossible to ignore when she was staring at him like this. When he shook his head, she realized that this wasn’t some weird staring contest. She was about to ask him ‘What are you staring at, handsome~’ but thankfully, his talking saved her from embarrassing herself.

“Alright, let’s head down then…For cover story purposes, you’re a family friend, and I’m showing you around Korea.” That would make more sense than, girlfriend because of the separate rooms, and it made a lot more sense for his brain continuing to function. Cerise just listened as he led her down the stairs to the restaurant. It seemed simple enough to her, easy to remember, not to mention she didn’t look completely Korean, so the story would hold more merit. Good thinking on his part!

Vanderwood made their order at the restaurant, and the staff was pretty prompt with taking it, spending a little extra time attempting to chat with them, which he was sure was because the waitress was interested him. He pretty much ignored her. Cerise was just surprised at how fast their order was taken and their waitress seemed super friendly to her. She was liking this place already.

He wasn’t talking much, which was boring, and to avoid sitting there in awkward silence, Cerise looked around curiously. Normally, she would just use her phone to keep her attention, but the poor little throw away phone just couldn’t keep up and ended up frustrating her, doing more harm than good. Her followers would just be even happier when she returned.

Vanderwood scanned the restaurant for any sign of trouble, anyone looking their way unnecessarily. Mostly, he saw the usual reaction of shock of people reacting to him. He wasn’t exactly inconspicuous, with his height, let alone just the air he gave off usually made people either uncomfortable or turned on, depending on the person. Vanderwood noted that there was one person continually sending glances their way, but he wasn’t looking at Vanderwood, he was eyeing Cerise. Vanderwood’s eyebrow twitched. Could he really blame the guy? Cerise was pretty cute. That thought just made his eyebrow twitch again.

Cerise’s eyes locked with a young man’s from the next table over and he averted his gaze quickly, looking down with a large blush. As she continued to look around trying to amuse herself, she would catch him staring at her again, and she would just flash him a smile and wave before she decided she would just go talk to the flustered guy. Vanderwood was already getting more irritated with the way she was interacting with the kid, but then she was saying “Hey, I’ll be right back.” In her sing song voice, and before he could give her an answer, she had made her way to the table, pulling up a chair opposite of the young man.

Vanderwood had wanted to tell her that she would be doing no such thing and grab her wrist, but that would have been an overreaction, and he hadn’t had time to come up with an appropriate response that could keep her at his table. Instead he settled for watching her from his own seat. They were talking and laughing, and Vanderwood could feel irritation growing by the second. The more she smiled at the other guy, the more he felt his body growing tight. This wasn’t normal for him at all. Vanderwood felt…possessive. He wanted to keep her safe, and he was certain his irritation over this young guy was just the physical reaction to his sense of duty to protect her.

She was talking and laughing with the guy for a few minutes before he scribbled something down on a napkin and shyly handed it to her. Cerise thanked him with a wink before getting up and returning to her own table, sitting down with a giggle. She’d have to wait to put the number he had given her into her new phone once it was in working order. Vanderwood was almost going to say something, but as Cerise returned to the table, seemingly pleased with her conversation, the waitress appeared again with their food.

Vanderwood gave the waitress a smirk, where before he had ignored her. He needed some sort of relief for his frustration, so maybe a small bit of playing around wouldn’t be so bad. “Thanks for the food, sexy.” Her face turned red, but she made a motion to sit next to him, which he didn’t refuse. She whispered something in his ear about when she would get off work and that he should meet her after her shift. Nice, one night stand material. Just as quickly, she was gone to help her other customers.

Cerise watched the scene in front of her unfold with a slight confusion. He had seemed disinterested in everything before now. Honey gold eyes flickered between him and their waitress as the woman sat down next to him and whispered into his ear. She watched as the woman got up and walked away, scrunching her nose up before talking. “She’s…really nice?” Cerise picked up a fork to dig into some pasta that she had ordered. She noticed that even the guy she had talked to earlier was staring at their waitress. Weird.

“Nice isn’t exactly what I go for.” He speared a sausage on his fork and took a bite before noticing the waitress giving a little display. The woman seemed to drop something before letting out a quite audible ‘oops!’ then _quite dramatically_ bending over to pick it up. Vanderwood grimaced in disgust. He wasn’t one for shows, but what he really needed was someone quick to get in and out of bed. The thought occurred to him that he really shouldn’t be getting _anyone_ into bed for the time being, but something about Cerise’s new ‘friend’ was making him too irritated to care. The fact that even that guy was watching the woman’s display, too eagerly, only made it worse. Somehow, he’d have to help Cerise lose the guy’s number.

She was a little confused by his comment. “Go for? Oh…” So that’s what he meant by that. The exchange with the waitress made so much more sense now. Cerise shook her head, blushing from the blatant display for attention and letting herself focus on her pasta in front of her. Okay, so the waitress had forgotten her coffee. Despite how much she had wanted it, she was _not_ about to invite that woman back over to them. _Cerise was going to have to endure without that heavenly liquid crafted by the Gods themselves_. Woe was her.

His eyes strayed to the waitress again. With the way this one was acting, he wasn’t entirely sure she was just a civilian. More likely, she was a fuck you and steal your wallet kind of whore. Vanderwood looked back to Cerise to realize that her coffee hadn’t arrived and raised his still gloved hand, indicating they needed the waitress to come back. She scampered over quickly. “Hey, lovely, my friend here still needs her coffee.” Vanderwood wasn’t eager to spend time with the waitress by any means, but he was paying for coffee so he’d better receive what he paid for. That was his only rule for spending money in general.

Cerise had opened her mouth to protest when he called the waitress back, but didn’t want to make a scene of it. Now, Cerise looked down and poked at her pasta some more, forgetting that she actually had to _eat_ it. She sunk down in her chair a little and waited. If anything could brighten her spirits, coffee could. Cerise didn’t have to wait long for her coffee to get to her, which was great, but she could have done without the display of melons that the waitress was now giving Vanderwood.

The waitress had bent over to give Vanderwood a glimpse of her cleavage once she’d brought the coffee. He had to admit she had some decent curves, and now he decided to test his theory from before, leaning forward to whisper in the waitress’ ear, asking for her rate. Vanderwood caught a lock of her hair between his fingers and slid it out of his hand just as quickly. This one was definitely not a civilian with the way she so easily let him do as he pleased. She winked at him before indicating a man in another booth he’d only briefly noticed earlier. So that was the pimp.

When she was gone he went back to eating like he hadn’t done anything. Cerise was just shoveling pasta in her mouth, likely trying to distract herself too, and on some level he felt bad for the little show he’d forced her to watch, but it was all for the sake of information. He wasn’t going to use this woman’s services, she was too cheap for one and had pretended not to be a whore in the first place. If there was one thing he hated, it was a liar.

He saw the pimp approaching first, but he could tell that Cerise had noticed him too out of the corner of her eye. The man was rather plump, middle-aged, and Vanderwood could already _smell_ him. That was not something anyone could call pleasant. Cerise had turned her head to watch curiously as the man made his way toward them. He seemed to be dressed nicely, but the closer he got, the more she noticed that he indeed did not _smell_ nice, causing Cerise to absentmindedly scoot her chair back. Vanderwood could hardly blame her. The man leaned his hand on the table and started to talk with a crooked, toothy smile.

“Ey.” He greeted them, keeping his eyes on Cerise who replied “…ey?” cocking her head to the side. “I…like your hat?” This was really awkward. What did this guy even want? The man grinned even wider and straightened said hat. “Yeah, yeah. It’s coo ain’t it. Say listen...” Now he turned his attention to Vanderwood, putting a hand on his shoulder. Usually pimps would let the johns come to them, so as much as Vanderwood didn’t like the man anywhere near Cerise and certainly did not like the man touching him, he was going to wait and hear what the man had to say, even though his skin was starting to crawl with the need to get away from this obviously dirty person.

The pimp kept up his toothy grin the entire time, scratching at his cheek occasionally before replacing his hand on Vanderwood’s shoulder over and over. If this tall man was so interested in his girl, maybe he would make a deal for this little one…? “I saws you puttin’ the moves on my girl over there and that’s coo, that’s coo. She’s a good girl.” Now he was moving to sit down next to Vanderwood, which he allowed without a fuss even though the guy absolutely reeked, causing Cerise to scoot back further. Whatever was happening she did _not_ feel comfortable. The vibes this man was giving off were really strange.

“I was wonderin’ if you’d be interested in a lil trade?” As soon as the mention of trade was made, Vanderwood raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?” What the Hell was that supposed to mean? The nasty man continued onward, not noticing or too stupid to notice that neither of the people at the table were _actually_ interested in what he had to say, laughing in a dry cough that grated on their ears and made Cerise shiver.

“Ya see…some mens – well a lot of dem actually, dey would pay a lot, and I mean a lot, of money to have a legal ho whos looks like a kid, like dat one dere.” The man then gestured towards Cerise. Her honey-colored eyes widened at his comments. She’d had her fair share of creepy comments directed towards her, but nothing like this. The only thing she could do was sit and stare in disbelief at what was happening. Surely Vanderwood wouldn’t give her over to a creep like this...She’d have to think of something quick just in case things went South.

Vanderwood’s eyebrow twitched as the man talked. He’d suggested one, that Cerise should be a ho, and two that she looked like a kid. There was something ugly stirring in his chest. It’s not like Cerise was _that_ important to him, but the things this asshole was saying were definitely making Vanderwood vehemently angry. “Whatdya say? My ho for yours, I’ll even gives ya fifteen percent of her earnings.” Now he was holding his hand out to Vanderwood.

He looked over to Cerise before he looked at the pimp, giving him a smirk as he took the man’s hand, seemingly like he was going to agree. That moment, Cerise’s heart fell. She didn’t have time for the panic to set in before Vanderwood was yanking the man forward. Vanderwood was squeezing the guy’s hand like no tomorrow and pressing his taser hard into the guy’s side.

Cerise couldn’t tell what Vanderwood was threatening the man with, but he looked absolutely terrified, which served him right. She listened as Vanderwood leaned towards the man, seeing his nose crinkle in disgust at the stench. “Here’s the deal. You are going to apologize to this beautiful young woman, and then you are going to turn around and walk. You’re going to walk, and walk, and walk, until you’re out of this hotel and you’re never going to come back. In exchange, I won’t tase you to death.” Vanderwood let go of the reeking man, shoving him away with a scowl, his eyes dark and menacing. Really, the man was lucky to not be dead.

Despite the intense and even a little frightening situation, Cerise found that Vanderwood’s words were having quite the effect on here. He’d really just called her beautiful? She felt her face heat up a little despite everything happening. It was like his words held a greater weight than the ones the gross older man had said about her, as negative as they were. The smelly pimp couldn’t get away fast enough, uttering a quick, half-assed apology before he rushed out the door.

The whole establishment had their eyes on them at this point but Cerise didn’t really care. “Hey, Vanderwood…thanks for that.” She was really happy that he had been there; she didn’t know what she would have done if she had been on her own, and more importantly, the way he had fiercely defended her sent her heart into a frenzy. She’d be the first to admit that she was weak for those kinds of things in the things she read, but to have it actually happen to her?

He had been giving a dark look to those looking their way, daring them to say or do something, irritated with himself and angry at the pimp because of the display which could be of danger to Cerise and him, but her thank you brought his attention back to her. Was she blushing? Oh God, now _he_ was blushing, and his heart was doing that strange flip thing again. He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “Don’t mention it. He was way out of line…Let’s pay and get back to our rooms for now.” She wasn’t about to argue with that; she wanted to get away from that place as soon as possible.

The waitress was terrified of him now, bringing his ticket and taking it and his money back as quickly as possible. He paid her no mind, his interest soured over her pimp, although he would love a cig or _something_ to relax, but it was just as well. Vanderwood led Cerise back up to the room, and to her relief, they made it there with no incident. It seemed like her life had gotten significantly more complicated since moving to Korea again.

Vanderwood could feel his skin crawling, still thanks to that disgusting piece of shit having touched him so much. His OCD could occasionally be coupled with germophobia, thanks to the need for everything around him to be so clean, but he noticed Cerise’s phones still both clutched in her hand as he held her door open.

Cerise turned around when he spoke. “I think…I owe you transferring your phone files now.” Her phone…she had almost forgotten about it with all of that commotion going on. _Almost._ She nearly squealed as she jumped to grab her new phone and the old one, handing them both to him excitedly. “This is going to be so great! I have so much to catch up on.”

He snorted softly at her excitement, taking the phones and grabbing the cord from his pocket to connect the two. “You’re really cute when you’re excited.” _Fuck._ He hadn’t really meant to say that out loud. Nothing to do about it now. Vanderwood had meant to pretend that he hadn’t said anything but then she responded along with a playful punch and wink. “You’re not so bad yourself~”

God, his face was red. Vanderwood went through the new phone, in part to distract himself but also because he needed to ensure once again that the geotags were off. He just couldn’t control himself or act normal with Cerise. Once he was done with her phones, he handed the new one to her before forcing his mind to work on putting together sentences.

Cerise was already burying herself in the new phone, tapping away, only stopping when he began talking to her again. “Ground rules. One, you don’t leave this room unless I’m with you. Two, you do not tell anyone where you are staying or why you’re staying there.” He looked her in the eyes, locking brown to honey gold, wanting to make sure she understood how important what he was saying was. “If you need anything at all, I’m right next door. If you hear something strange, see anyone following you or looking at you in a way that makes you uncomfortable, you tell me. I’ll protect you, Cerise, okay?” Why was it so important to him that she believe him? It was just about making his life easier while he took care of her, certainly…No, there was something to it; he just didn’t understand it.

“Okay.” She nodded, indicating that she understood what he was saying. Cerise could totally lay low for a few days, catch up on her shows and blog posts. Especially since she now had a hold of this beautiful new phone. Piece of cake! After today, Cerise had no doubt in her mind that he would protect her, which made her feel comforted even when she was supposedly trying to get away from two deranged maniacs. Cerise smiled and stared at him for a moment, his face and especially his eyes looked really intense in that moment; it was a perfect opportunity for…She quickly snapped a picture with her new phone, for the first time right in front of his face, giving him a wink. “Sorry, couldn’t help it~”

 _Damn it._ Cerise was going to be the death of him. He already felt like he was having a heart attack every time she did _anything_ but her wink was just…not helping. At least she seemed to be listening to the ground rules, so that was good, although the way she’d just taken that photo made his eye twitch. Maybe she would _literally_ be the death of him. “I have the feeling you aren’t sorry at all.” Vanderwood hated his picture taken, let alone the attention he was apparently getting from her followers. It wasn’t something he liked to think about, even Seven had already called him Vanderhottie in a text he’d checked while Cerise had been sleeping in the car. Really, it was just one big security risk too, particularly if he started getting recognized on the street.

Vanderwood needed a cig, but he just sighed. “Do me a favor and make that the last one you take of me, alright?” He was far gentler with her than he would have been with anyone else, but now he decided it was best to get out of there before she tried again. Cerise seemed like the type to do it again simply because he asked her not to. Vanderwood ducked into his own room, flopping onto the bed and sending a few messages to Seven before staring at the ceiling.

Cerise was somewhat disappointed, almost having wanted to snap another quick picture just for defiance’s sake before he slipped away. Oh well. She spent the rest of her day lounging about her hotel room, getting accustomed to her new phone. It was everything she’d hoped it would be and more. After about three full hours getting caught up on her social media, she’d done pretty much everything she could with it. It looked like her followers were just eating up the previous pictures of Vanderwood she had taken. Cerise pulled up the one she’d taken of him earlier that day. If she posted it, it was sure to be a hit, but she couldn’t help but want to keep just that one to herself. She noticed that he was rather quiet; she couldn’t hear anything beyond the door. Was he even in there? Must have been a secret agent thing.

He was lost in his thoughts for the rest of the day, only slipping out of them when Seven sent him some files of information to on Jessica or Drawl to review. When Seven sent him a file on Cerise, Vanderwood opened it instantly, but he could only get past the first sentence stating her age and birth date before he felt like he was invading her privacy. She was quite a bit younger than him…but he didn’t care. Vanderwood bit his tongue.

There was something happening to him with Cerise, and it wasn’t simply needing a fix, was it? He was getting hopelessly attached to her, and he needed to take care of Drawl and Jessica soon. She needed to get back to her normal life, a normal life without him. The fact that the thought genuinely hurt him had him worried. He’d need to get that done sooner rather than later to avoid anything happening between the two of them.

Check out my website for more. [~Let's Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	4. Secret Agent Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cerise has become bored to the point of no return and she finds a way to get the entertainment she needs. Does it turn out to be what she wanted?

***No hidden scenes this week, but....I think you'll enjoy the comedy of this chapter, even if it ends on a bit of a...sour note? ~Let’s Connect! FFC***

Cerise had spent the next few days catching up on her favorite telenovela. She couldn’t understand a _word_ they were saying, but she enjoyed it nonetheless, imagining it was a bit like being addicted to crack…except not really. Rarely did she see Vanderwood beyond when he would bring her something to eat, but he would never stay. Cerise had tried inviting him a few times to play a game or watch a movie or just _something_ , but to no avail. It was getting to the point where Cerise was beginning to crave real _actual_ social interaction with _actual_ people, and she felt like she was going to go stir crazy in that room when the evening of the fourth day rolled around. “Hey!” She called out, seemingly talking to a door, if there’d been an onlooker. “Vanderwoooood!” Now she knocked on the door, waiting for a response from him.

The knock and call for him had his heart doing that stupid flip thing again. He’d been trying to keep his distance, as much as he wanted to join her for a game or a movie, it just wasn’t a good idea, not with the way his heart jumped when she talked to him. Mostly, he’d kept to himself, going through intel reports on Jessica and Drawl to brush up on their habits and fighting styles, doing some minor paperwork, and making sure to check in with boss that he’d officially been given the counter-hit job. Of course, only he and Seven knew about Cerise. It wasn’t good to involve a civilian where the agency was concerned. It was really fortunate in this case that Drawl and Jessica had a personal vendetta against him. Vanderwood was planning on killing the two, whether he’d gotten the counter-hit or not anyway, simply because that’s what it would take to keep Cerise safe.

He went to the door, internally groaning at himself and his reactions to her before responding, just another person seemingly talking to a door. “What’s wrong Cerise? Do you need something?” She typically left him alone other than when he brought food, so it was possible something was amiss. The thought wasn’t a comforting one. Vanderwood opened the door for her, eyes quickly sweeping her room for anything, but everything seemed the same, nothing out of place except the beautiful and very petite woman standing there.

Cerise was just happy that he’d come to the door. Not that she’d been expecting him to ignore her or anything. He seemed to be scanning the place over for any trouble, but the only real trouble was that she was _so bored._ Cerise put on the most pitiful look she could manage and tugged at his shirt. “Yeah…” She started, making sure to sound the part too, so far so good. “I’m really lonely and bored… _will you please let me out?_ I wanna go do something fun.” Cerise wasn’t sure he would fall for her dramatics, but it was certainly worth a try. All for the good of her sanity! She wasn’t above a little trickery.

Vanderwood was…Lord, he was choking on air. It took all of his concentration just to figure out how to talk again with a puppy dog look like that staring up at him. How was he supposed to respond to a look like that, and her tugging on his shirt? What even were words? How even did you use them? He internally slapped some sense into himself, biting his tongue. It simply wasn’t a good idea for her or even him to go out right now, in fact, they should be limiting their contact with other human beings as much as possible. Anyone who saw their faces was at risk of leading Jessica and Drawl right to them, and if they were caught on anyone else’s cameras and posted to the internet, hello facial recognition software and geotags.

She was lucky he was even letting her be on social media, but then again, it was best if no one in her life thought anything was going on and tried to find her at her apartment. By now, it would have been cleaned of any evidence of a struggle, and his blood on the floor, but it would still be a major problem if she had any visitors. Damn…he needed to give her a good answer, puppy dog eyes and all. Vanderwood sighed and leaned his arm against the doorframe. If only they could watch a movie or do something together. Even the thought was overstepping bounds. “I’m sorry, but it’s going to be a while before I let you out. Can’t you find something else to do? Instafram some selfies or something?” Vanderwood didn’t really know what he was talking about. Social media wasn’t something he used personally, especially the picture services.

“A while?” Now she was _really_ pouting, and that _really_ wasn’t good for his heart. “How long is a while? There’s only so much I can post or take selfies about how bored I am before my followers get bored too, ya know?” Cerise sighed and let go of his shirt, still looking up at him. “There’s nothing interesting to do in a hotel room.” _I can think of a few things._ His internal response was very much an unwanted thought.

Vanderwood just looked at her for a moment before he could find some sort of proper response. “A while is a while. I’m preparing to do a hit, you know. I can’t have our position compromised before I want it to be.” Honesty, as uncomfortable as it was, was what she needed to hear, and what he’d promised himself to give her to make keeping her trust easier, and maybe even hopefully scare her away from him. “Until they’re dead, the likelihood of me taking you out to do _anything_ is pretty slim.” He realized his oversight a little too late, mentally griping at himself that even afterwards he wouldn’t be taking her out to do anything. That wrenched a little at his heart, but he shook his head and pushed off from the door frame. “Start learning another language, or find a game on your phone. I have intel to go through.”

Cerise huffed, clutching her phone in her hand. If he was going to be difficult about it, so was she. It wasn’t like she was asking much, just to wander around the hotel or _something_. Anything was better at this point than being stuck between the same four walls. When he pushed off from the door frame, she saw her chance. Now she ducked under him and crossed into his room, planting herself on the floor, looking up at him with her arms crossed. By the look of things, all of his work was in here, so it wasn’t like he could just leave. “Guess I’ll just have to hang out here, then.”

 _God fucking damn it_. Her entering his room, well, that was exactly the opposite of what he needed. It was frustrating enough the way he reacted to her whenever he brought her food, even in the simplest of conversation his heart going wild, but now she was in his room. It wasn’t good for him, especially with as long as it had been since his last fix and how irritated he was. That thought didn’t help him any either, because it just made him feel guilty, which irritated him more. Vanderwood had a few choices, pick her up and place her back in her room, potentially making it worse or dissipating what trust they _did_ have between each other, or just dealing with it.

The latter was probably the better option. He was somehow on the road to a recovery thanks to her, not even thinking about grabbing a cigarette anymore. Maybe if he clung to the thought of her long enough he’d be able to kick his bad habits completely. No, probably not. Somehow, he had a feeling that when she went back to her old life, his old life would seem that much more fascinating. Vanderwood closed the door before walking past her to sit on his bed. She was so fucking cute when she was being obstinate, and it honestly made him feel a little angry, certainly tense. He wasn’t angry at _her_ , though, just his own reactions to her. _Just don’t touch her, whatever you do._ “Find something on the TV then.” At least if she was watching TV, they wouldn’t have to talk much.

Seriously? She was blinking at him in confusion now, tilting her head a bit. Cerise had expected much more protesting from him. Was she disappointed or relieved? At least arguing with him would be something to _do_. The remote was on the nightstand, seemingly untouched. Did this man not watch TV…? Cerise stood up to retrieve it and then took a place on the floor, at the foot of the bed so it was easier to see the television and have something to lean against.

Shortly after turning on the TV, she found exactly what she wanted to watch. It was a show about a handsome player doctor, a pretty smokin’ lady janitor, and their romance despite all the protests from their families…or at least she thought that was what it was about. Cerise honestly had no idea what anyone was saying, but she watched intently as what appeared to be a cat fight between two women played out on the screen. Even though she was stuck watching TV _again_ , she took comfort in the fact that she wasn’t completely alone.

He’d raised an eyebrow at her show choice, but wasn’t saying anything. Did she even speak Spanish? She was watching the show rather intently, so he couldn’t be entirely sure. It wouldn’t be completely surprising if she did, considering she at least spoke Korean and French. Surely, she could speak another language. Vanderwood snorted softly as the doctor character accidentally called the maid fat. Why was he actually getting into this? He stretched and laid across his bed, Cerise right in front of him at the foot of it. Well, he shouldn’t have done that, but it did feel better for his back. Vanderwood broke the silence out of curiosity, having noticed that she didn’t react to the ‘fat maid’ thing at all. “Do you even know what they’re saying?”

She took her eyes off of the TV and peeked her head over the food of the bed to look at him, not having actually expected him to talk. “Nope!” Cerise now laughed a little, realizing how silly it sounded to watch something she didn’t understand, but hey. A guilty pleasure was a guilty pleasure. “…Do you?” He _had_ snorted at something, probably something to do with the show, unless he was having an interesting conversation in his head.

“Maybe about half of what they’re saying…yeah.” Her laugh had his heart twisting. Why was she so perfect? This _one_ girl was the only one who’d ever made him feel this way. Vanderwood bit his tongue before he explained what little he’d gleaned from the show so far. “The doctor guy accidentally called the maid lady fat, who it turns out is pregnant. That other lady is the doctor’s wife, and the maid just told her about the baby.” Really these shows were incredibly dramatic, and he wasn’t sure he understood why anyone would watch it, whether they understood Spanish or not.

The way Cerise was now looking between him and the TV had him starting to translate what the maid was saying next, but then his face filled with color and he just wasn’t able to finish the sentence. “So, she’s telling the wife all about…nevermind.” Cerise frowned at him. “All about _what_?” Now she was turning to look towards the TV again and try to guess at it. Whatever the maid was telling the wife, she looked really upset and offended. He had begun to tell her and now she was just _dying_ to know, but it looked like he wasn’t talking.

Wait…was…was he not telling her on purpose? Because she forced her way into his room? She hadn’t seen his massive blush thanks to the TV screen, but Cerise pouted again and climbed up to plant herself beside him now, prodding at him with her pointer finger. “Heeey, Vanderwood, you meanie. Tell me!” _Jesus Christ_. That made him tense up. What the maid had described was bad enough on its own, but having to tell her with her right next to him?…Could he even control his own mind from slipping to thinking about Cerise doing?…Nope. He mentally slapped himself and bit down on his tongue. Maybe he did need a cig…and a hooker…like he needed air. This was far too much for him. Cerise wasn’t going to stop unless he gave her something, so he tried to get his words worked around enough that he didn’t have to directly translate it. “Alright…so…she described….rather specifically…how that baby was conceived.” That wasn’t too direct, and she’d get the picture probably, or so he hoped. Now he scooted a little away from her, but the bed was only so big.

“Oh!” Cerise said it like the entire world suddenly made sense to her. “So that’s why the wife is so mad.” Now she nodded, pleased with his answer, but not moving from her spot. “You know, I didn’t even know until just now that that was even his wife.” She paused as she watched the TV, one woman slapping the other, causing Cerise to unconsciously wince. “I just…kinda figured she was some salty lady who liked him too. Now the jealousy makes sense.”

Vanderwood snorted softly. “Yeah…things tend to make shit ton of sense when you speak the language of the show you’re watching.” So that was a little douchey of a response, but he was rather a douchey guy most of the time. There was something oddly intimate about watching a ridiculous telenovela with her, and it wasn’t helping him with how tense he felt at all. Now he pushed out of bed to stretch. Maybe exercising would relieve him a little bit. “I’m going to work out for a bit, if you want to go back to your room.” Out of habit, he’d started to pull off his shirt before thinking better of it, noticing the way her eyes widened. He’d at least let her decide whether she wanted to leave first.

Her response was quick, moving to make a grab for a pillow and hanging onto it. “And suffer eternal loneliness again? _Never._ ” She had finally achieved some sort of extended human interaction after what seemed like forever, so she might as well make herself comfortable, because she didn’t plan on moving. Vanderwood returned to taking off his shirt again then, and Cerise’s eyes only continued to widen. Was he really taking his shirt off… _right now?_ Oh no…. _Don’t say something stupid, don’t say something stupid._ “Besides, I think I found a more interesting show.” Her sing song voice didn’t give away the internal screaming as she berated herself. _Dammit, Cerise, you had one job!_

 _Fuck._ He was too busy internally dying to notice that she was too, as his face lit up with blush again. Vanderwood had literally never blushed around any woman before her. Hell, even in high school when he’d gotten kissed by a classmate, nothing. He groaned at himself internally before he tossed his shirt towards his bag, turning his back to her and stretching for the ceiling, revealing his half demon, half angel wing tattoo, the exit wound scar from the bullet he’d taken for Seven marring a few feathers on the right side.

Cerise felt like her brain had just stopped functioning, and she pretty much lost all interest in whatever was going on on the television. He was really muscular, which made sense considering his line of work. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as she just kept looking. It was impossible to tear away her gaze really, now noting the various scars he had, which again wasn’t so surprising. Cerise almost wanted to ask how he’d gotten them, but she didn’t think he’d answer her even if she asked.

Was it rude to keep staring? Probably…but she just couldn’t help it! While his back was turned, she snapped a picture, making sure to zoom in slightly to get a good shot of his tattoo. Vanderwood didn’t notice, thinking it was easy enough to reach the ceiling, being as tall as he was in a country that was mostly built for shorter people. Unfortunately, it wasn’t like Seven’s house where he had installed the bar hanging from his ceiling to use for pullups and sit-ups. On the road, he had to do everything on the floor. If there was one thing he missed while on the road, it was that bar. Now, he got on the ground and started doing sit-ups, trying to pretend that a beautiful woman wasn’t watching him.

She fumbled a little with her phone when he went to do sit-ups, hiding that she had just taken a picture of him. It was almost too much now, and she had to bury her head in the pillow she was holding, otherwise he was going to notice how red she was. Probably red enough to put a tomato to shame. Vanderwood was just happy that she wasn’t watching him anymore. Yet, he found that strangely disappointing too. He finished up his sit-ups and switched to push-ups, first both arms and then one handed, needing to do the full reps on each hand. Had he caught a glimpse of her blushing as she nuzzled more into that pillow? She certainly seemed interested in that thing. Did it smell like him? That was a weird thought to have. What kind of a weirdo thought like that? Or was that normal for people who had crushes? _Shit fuck._ Best not to dwell on the fact that he had a crush…or whatever.

Now Cerise peeked out over the pillow. He was still going at it. She at least admired his dedication to keep his body in shape even while they were stuck in a hotel. Cerise probably wasn’t doing herself any favors by hiding in the pillow...In fact, she was probably being all the more obvious. This was definitely a lot better than being trapped in her room though…Her eyes flickered to where he was again. Yep, definitely a lot better. She couldn’t help but to…take another picture. Her hands moved automatically like it was the most natural thing in the world for her as she quickly, and not so inconspicuously, took another picture of him.

Had she just? Vanderwood stopped and just stared for a moment. Of course she had. He groaned, and sat up, giving her a look. “Didn’t I ask you to stop taking pictures of me?” Vanderwood had only just started to feel better, and now he was irritated again, pushing off the floor to make a grab for her phone. Cerise squeaked and fell backwards when he reached for her phone. Her first instinct was to smack him in the face with the pillow she had been holding, which promptly fell to the floor as soon as she chucked it, but she made sure to hold her phone away from him so that he couldn’t grab it.

He ended up crouched on top of her, having swatted the pillow she’d thrown at him away. Now he’d managed to grab the phone as well as her hand, but then he looked down at her face which was literally only inches from his. Vanderwood’s face heated up quickly, and he let go of her, sitting back on his haunches and holding his hands up like she was pointing a gun at him. The gun, was just how damn attractive she was to him. What the Hell? He dropped his hands and sighed. “Can you please not?”

It took a second for Cerise to recover. He had been _so close_. Now she sat up and looked at him. Somehow, he looked annoyed, but he was still…blushing…No matter how harshly her brain told her not to, she leaned forward towards him. She was sure her face was red too, but this was just too perfect of a moment. “Not what?” Cerise all but purred, dangerously close to him now. “This?” She waited until she was basically right up on him to take another picture while his blush seemed to be at its maximum. Payback for not letting her out of her room for all that time.

 _Fucking Hell_. It was taking everything in him not to just grab her and kiss her right then, particularly after she took that picture. Of course, then it would have been out of anger, the need for a fix. Wait…would it have not been that way before the photo? All he knew right now was that he couldn’t have Cerise playing around in his room anymore. He took a deep breath before he stood, picking her up over his shoulder and taking her to the door.

Cerise didn’t have time to respond before she was slung over his shoulder. “Hey!” She protested and struggled a bit before he opened her door and set her down. He was quick to close and lock the door then, talking to her through it. “Have a good night, Cerise. Dinner will be soon.” She was probably all sorts of upset with him, which hurt a bit. He just couldn’t be around her right now, not with what he was wanting to do. Vanderwood could hear her complaints through the door. “Vanderwood, you meanie! It’s only six pm!”

She knew that he could hear her, but he wasn’t responding. It wasn’t like she had been asking to roam the city or anything. Now she tried knocking, no answer still. “Ugh.” Cerise huffed and sat on the bed, hugging one of her own pillows as an idea dawned on her. If he was going to be like this, she was going to make his life Hell until he decided to finally let her out. “Let’s see how long you can handle… _this_!” She pulled up a song on a music app and set it to repeat on the loudest volume setting, putting it by the door. “I hope you like this song, hon~” Cerise laughed, making sure he would be able to hear it through the door. “Oh, who am I kidding, of course you would!’ And that marked the start of a three-hour loop of the song Secret Agent Man.

He ignored her at first, chuckling a little at how cute she was and then grumbling at himself for thinking that. After a few rounds of the song, he was starting to get irritated. Then the first hour passed, and he tried working out again, but that didn’t help. Next, he attempted to listen to music with his earbuds in for the second hour, but that wasn’t working, because now he could still hear the song in his head. Finally, the third hour rolled around, and he unlocked the door, opening it and pointing towards the door to the hotel hallway. “Turn that God damn music off, and you can leave. _Please leave_.”

Cerise had heard him shuffling around and walked over to the door. Was he finally unlocking it? Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw his figure appear in the doorway, looking incredibly irritated, his eyebrow twitching like crazy. She did feel a _little_ bad, but she’d won her freedom fair and square, mostly. He didn’t have to tell her twice before she scooped up her phone and left out the door with a song songy “See ya, Vandy!” Cerise didn’t trust herself or anyone around enough to actually leave the hotel, but there was a bar attached. Maybe she could go and meander around there? She certainly wasn’t going to that horrible diner restaurant again. It didn’t take her long to find the bar, the ‘bouncer’ seeming to have dozed off, allowing her to easily get in. Much to her delight, the place was lively. This would do well in curing her boredom for now.

It hadn’t taken long before she got multiple requests to buy her a drink, which she rejected. She wasn’t dumb enough to accept a drink from any random person in there. She wandered around the bar area, honey gold eyes sweeping the place. There were men and women everywhere of all shapes and sizes, the rug a slightly different pattern than the one on the floor of the hotel, and the lights much dimmer. It wasn’t a dance bar by any means, which was a little sad, but she didn’t have her dance pants anyway, and she wasn’t about to allow for any accidental up-skirt pictures. The bar itself was your standard type, a hardwood bar top and the typical barstools. There were tables with chairs all around the place too, but for now, she was staying away from that in favor of the bartender who was calling her over to have a seat at the bar.

“I’ll make you something on the house, if you promise not to tell my boss, that is.” He seemed nice enough, and at least she could watch him make the drink too. Cerise gave him her signature wink. “I won’t tell if you don’t!” It was always best not to accept drinks from sleazy guys unless they were buying it for you right at the bar, and it went straight into your own hands. She kept a close eye on him, making sure he wasn’t doing anything fishy. He was decent looking enough and deserved _something_ for his efforts in wooing her, right? “So, are you here with anyone?” The light flirting she was giving him was of course making it easier for him to bring up conversation, and she didn’t falter in coming up with the backstory Vanderwood had given her. “Just a family friend, showing me around Korea. I’ve been in France and only just got back.”

He nodded, and she noted the way his smile seemed to get a little bigger. So, he probably thought he was getting somewhere. Cerise was really only being polite, but she did enjoy the attention, at least when her lack of filter wasn’t making her internally scream. As he handed the drink to her, he was about to ask her for her number, but instead his eyes grew wide as this tiny woman downed the drink with seemingly no effort. Cerise uttered a thanks and was off again, taking in the scenery of the place a little more, the mass of plants that seemed to get thicker and more…foresty, the deeper she walked into the place.

Weaving through the crowd of people, she came across this rather large and burly man who was loudly boasting that nobody would be able to out drink him. Well…they’d see about that, wouldn’t they? “Excuse me?” Cerise approached him with a smile, and the crowd around him stilled from grumbles to incredulous whispers. “I’d like to challenge you.” Instantly the man, along with his buddies, began laughing, obviously thinking that she was joking, causing her to pout. “I’m serious, you know!” Cerise stared the man down, a fierce look in her eyes that actually made him, as well as his buddies, quiet down.

The biker gulped a little. Damn, this tiny lady had a lot of fire in her. He motioned for her to sit down. “Okay, girly. But if I win…” He thought about it for a moment before a chuckle escaped him. “If I win, you have to go on a date with me.” Now it was Cerise’s turn to laugh. “You won’t win though. When I win, you have to buy everyone here a drink.” The man had a twinkle in his eyes, his rosy red cheeks not indicative of blushing, but he had the cash and now the crowd was excited for this little gal to win more than for him. Well then. A good challenge indeed.

For a few minutes, Vanderwood had just lied in bed, praising, for once, whatever God existed for mercy once the song stopped playing in his head. How long had he even been lying there? That’s when he realized what he’d done. He’d let Cerise out without him. Cerise who had a target on her back thanks to him. Cerise who might have been grabbed by a pimp in this very hotel if it wasn’t for him. This was not okay. Vanderwood was immediately panicking, far more than he usually would when he’d made a mistake.  He had to find her quickly and make sure she was safe.

As he left the hotel room, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Vanderwood had promised to protect her, and he meant to, no matter how confusing his feelings were for her or how much she annoyed the crap out of him. She didn’t deserve to get hurt just because he was an ass. Granted, her little game had been…still, he shouldn’t have fallen for it. He was supposed to be keeping her safe.

Vanderwood made his way down the stairs of the hotel, trying to gauge where she would go. Hopefully she was still in the hotel. Since she’d mentioned earlier that she didn’t want to leave it, there was a good chance. He figured that she wouldn’t go to the restaurant again, but the only other thing this hotel had was…the bar. The bar. His heart stilled. She could get into a Hell of a lot of trouble in a bar. He was quick to find it, slipping past the ‘bouncer’ and curling his lip in disgust at the sleeping form. What a useless prick, sleeping on the job. Now his eyes scanned the bar area, hard to do thanks to the swathe of other bodies.

Apparently, it was more difficult to find a peach-haired petite shorty in the crowd than he had anticipated. As long as she was here and not out of the hotel…She had to be here. Panic was making his heart race and his body feel colder the more he had to search. Cerise made it so hard for him to think, and it made all the sense in the world to him why you weren’t allowed to be attached to people in the agency. He needed to stop and breathe. A slow and deep breath was hard to take in the midst of panic, but he managed, and once he had, it was much easier to scan the room. That’s when he heard her voice over a throng of people and laughter as he made his way into the more foliaged area of the bar. ‘I’m serious, you know!’

What was she doing? Vanderwood had to push through a crowd of people to finally see her…challenging a man who looked like he was from a biker gang to a drinking match. He was there in a flash, his hand on her shoulder. “We are going back upstairs. Now.” His eyebrow was twitching up a storm and he gave everyone a look, his normally bright brown eyes dark and dangerous as they met the eyes of the burly man who had stood as though to start something with him, the look causing the man to slowly sit back down.

Cerise had jumped at the hand on her shoulder and now turned to look up at him. “Vanderwood?” She thought she had irritated him enough to at least give her a few hours out. Vanderwood wasn’t really paying attention to her as he swept Cerise over his shoulder as effortlessly as he had in the hotel room, taking her out of the bar. Cerise protested, struggling against him to no avail “Hey! This isn’t fair, you said I could go out!” She stopped struggling when she realized it was getting her nowhere and just groaned the entire time until he finally placed her on her feet again once they reached the stairs.

Vanderwood was the first to speak, his voice rather grim and dark. “I’ll take you somewhere tomorrow. Just. No. Bars.” Everything in him felt tight and angry. How could he have made a mistake like that? He didn’t even want to think about what a bunch of drunk men could have done to her. That had him thinking what he wanted to do to her. Now he was just disgusted with himself in every way a person could imagine. He needed a fuck, and he needed it bad, or he was going to go insane, but he wasn’t going to make it her. Cerise was just glowering at him, feeling mildly irritated herself. The promise of going somewhere the next day hadn’t even seemed to help. He’d begun to start up the stairs, but she was now running up ahead of him, a few steps above him, putting them at eye level. “You know, I could have taken that guy.”

His eyebrow twitched and he bit at his tongue, a sharp and angry inhale before he started to gripe at her, like he’d done on many an occasion with Seven and Caleb, the very few. “And tell me, Cerise, what exactly would you have done when he and his drunk friends decided they wanted to take you home? What would you have done if one of those drunkards decided he wanted to find out what you look like naked?” He lived in a world of scumbags, sociopaths, and murderers. At least two of those categories included himself. Vanderwood was absolutely pissed at himself, and now the flood gates of anger had opened.

It was far too easy to pick her up and press her against the wall. “You cannot tell me, that you can take them, that you would have been fine on your own.” He’d been trying to make a point about her physical strength in comparison to his and to those men, but…even the look of surprise on her face didn’t register for him now. Her face was so close, and he was so done. Vanderwood kissed her hard, the unrelenting and emotionless kind he was used to, not even in control of what he was doing, but just searching for relief.

 _God fucking damn it. No. No, no no_. Guilt and shame flooded him like a dam had broken, and he felt sick to his stomach. This wasn’t what he wanted at all. It took him a moment still before he could break away, and that only made it worse. Now he was just stuck staring at her in disbelief. What had he done? He’d treated her like one of his whores and it felt like his heart was actually collapsing in on itself. She deserved so much more than that, so much more than him. He loved her too much to want that for her. _Love?_ What was even happening right now?

Cerise hadn’t let her glare falter except for just a brief moment of surprise when he’d picked her up. She was pissed, and it only got worse from there. His kiss sent an entire shock through her system that her brain couldn’t quite catch up with. He hadn’t been gentle at all…Was he trying to teach her a lesson? About how easy it would be for someone to just take what they wanted from her? What a shitty way to demonstrate. And now he was just staring at her? What did he want her to say? ‘Oh, you have a point, I see the error of my ways now, please lock me back up?’ When she was finally out of her confused daze, she frowned, speaking in a calm voice, despite how angry she was. “Take me back to my room. Now.” She would have just gone herself, but he was the one with the key card.

Vanderwood didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say. He just put her down, walking silently to the room and letting her in. Everything was crushing in on him. More than anything, he wanted to apologize, tell her he hadn’t meant for that to happen, that she deserved better. The words wouldn’t come, and besides that, he needed to get away from her for now, relax, get himself under control, if he even could. Any trust she’d had for him was probably gone now. He realized that he was staring at her closed door. She’d slammed it as she went into the room.

Cerise was curled up hugging the fluffiest pillow she could find, her head buried in it. She felt like she wanted to cry, but she wasn’t going to allow herself to. “What made him think that was okay…” Now she mumbled to herself before flopping onto her back and picking up her phone, trying to occupy herself. She found that even _that_ wasn’t making her feel any better. Sighing, she brought her fingers to her lips…That had been the first time she’d ever been kissed…and it had been wasted on some stupid lesson. “Jerk…”

After he’d finally bothered to enter his own room, Vanderwood just sat on the ground, placing his back against her door. Why couldn’t he control himself? Even with her. She was the most wonderful thing he’d had in his life for years. Cerise made him _feel_ more than he had in years. He’d known he hadn’t had a chance with her, shouldn’t even have thought of the option, knowing what he did of himself. He simply didn’t deserve her and _couldn’t_ have her, but it still hurt beyond reason that he had hurt her. How many hours passed? Maybe it was just minutes? Vanderwood took off his leather gloves, gently tracing the crisscrossing scars along his hand. “Cerise…?” His voice sounded foreign to him after so much silence, but he had to apologize for what he’d done.

Check out my website for more. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	5. Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood gets an entirely different type of relief, but does he manage to make up what he did to Cerise?

***Look at this adorable MM gif of Cerise by our official artist and her creator - tumblr's chaoticstarblossoms~~ Isn't it precious????? No hidden scenes this week, just...*maybe there's a kiss, maybe there isn't*. I just hope Vandy makes up for what he did last chapter. Bad vandy, bad.  **GO #CHERRYWOOD** ~Let's Connect! FFC***

Cerise wasn’t sure how much time had passed of her staring at the ceiling, when she thought she heard her name from beyond the door. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, walking over to the door, putting her ear to it. Yeah…he was definitely there. “What do you want, Vanderjerk?” Vanderwood made a soft snort at the name.

Even angry, she was the same adorable woman. He was standing there, the door unlocked, but hoping that she would be the one to open it, even though he wouldn’t blame her for not doing so. “I want…to apologize. What I did…I can explain it, but that doesn’t make it okay.” Vanderwood clenched and unclenched his right hand, noting the way that his scars rippled with the motion. “Will you at least let me explain…I guess the explanation doesn’t really matter, because either way I was out of line, but…I’d still like you to know.”

Would she even want to hear it? Vanderwood was having an internal dilemma still. Was he really about to tell her about his past? Yeah…he needed to if he was going to explain what had happened. He just didn’t want her to think it was an excuse. Damn. It was just confusing, and he felt awful on many levels.

She stood there for a moment, contemplating on whether or not she wanted to let him in. At least he realized what he did was shitty and not okay. With a sigh, she unlocked her side of the door and opened it. Cerise would at least let him explain himself, even though she was pretty sure it would just turn into some lecture about how she didn’t know how to handle herself, and he wanted to prove that to her. Without a word, she turned to go and sit on the edge of her bed, grabbing a pillow to hold onto while she prepared to listen to him.

Vanderwood was beyond relieved that she’d opened the door, but his stress wasn’t over yet. He opted for sitting on the floor, not wanting to loom over her. Really, he felt much lighter, but now it was time for a long story, one that might make her dislike him more. At least then he wouldn’t be in some delusional state that things could work between them. “So…guess I’ll start from the beginning…” Her eyes had followed his figure as he moved to sit on the floor. She hugged her pillow tighter when he began to talk, ready to hear whatever dumb excuse he had for acting the way he had towards her.

He sighed, tracing the scars on his hand absentmindedly as he talked. “My father was a drug lord, and my mother…After my mother had my younger brother she got hooked on heroine and left to live with my aunt. Caleb, my brother…” The smallest of smiles crossed his face but it was so bittersweet. “He was a little shit…I raised him for the most part, even though we were only five years apart.” Okay, now time for the real pain. How did a person even brace themselves for that?

His tracing of his scars became more erratic, stopping and starting in strange little starts. Cerise noted the way his fingertip was rubbing over his right hand, but she wasn’t entirely sure why. He was giving her essentially his life story, and she was just trying to figure out how that fit in to the lecture. If he was going to gripe at her, he might as well get it over with already, but she sat patiently.

“When I was eighteen, I moved out, brought Caleb with me. I did some street fighting for money. After a while, he started staying over at his friends’ houses, but he knew he was always welcome at my place. He’d come sometimes, but I didn’t realize…I didn’t realize that he was on heroine.” His voice felt choked, a lump in his throat that was becoming difficult to talk past as memories and images flit through his head. “He…OD’ed in my bathroom at fifteen.” Now he paused, holding up his hand to show her the white gouges. “These scars…I kinda destroyed my living room window. Just to feel something…anything…other than the numbness, the anger, the guilt…” Only now did she really see the crisscrossing white lines, how some were deep and others raised. Somehow Cerise had ended up at the very edge of her bed, hanging on to every word of his story.

Alright, so, he’d gotten to the part that finally related to her. Vanderwood looked up to meet her gaze, her honey-gold eyes beautiful as ever, but gauging her reaction to what he was saying. “I went between feeling nothing and being angry…all the time. So, I just kind of…wandered around, doing street fights. Then I met a hooker at a bar. Sex…made me feel something, so I got addicted to it. I went to parties, messed around with as many women as I could. None of it meant anything to me except the euphoria of the high.” Cerise’s face seemed to be filled with shock, maybe something else too, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint it. “A while later, I tried to pick up an expensive escort, and she turned out to be an undercover agent. She’s the one who recruited me.”

Vanderwood paused to take a breath, rubbing the back of his head for a little while before continuing. “So…they got me under control for the most part. The agency really cleaned me up, but…any time I’m angry or tense, sometimes I just need that fix.” Cerise was just staring open-mouthed now. It explained why he was so rough around the edges. He’d been through so much, and he was still rather young.

She had always lived a rather privileged and cushy life, so she couldn’t even imagine what he’d gone through between losing his brother and dealing with an addiction. The explanation he was giving her was so much different than the one she’d conjured in her head, and she had been totally unprepared. Cerise had gone into this expecting to argue with him, but he was really throwing her for a loop now. There was no way she could claim to understand completely, but she was glad he was sharing this with her…despite the circumstances behind it.

It took Vanderwood a while to realize that she wasn’t about to start talking, and then he realized he hadn’t even truly apologized yet, just told the story. The relief of the weight of that story having been taken off him had gotten him rather confused. Vanderwood bit his tongue and took a breath before he continued. “I was so angry at myself for letting you out on your own, potentially putting you in danger…Cerise, I was panicking. I can’t think straight around you. You’re the only woman in my life who’s ever made me genuinely feel something. I was scared. I was angry. I needed an outlet. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it was all my fault.” The words were coming now, much quicker than he was meaning, just falling like he had no control.

“The way you make me feel about you…I can’t think straight, but I know you don’t deserve that kind of treatment. You deserve to be loved…be held at night and handled with gentleness. What I did to you, it makes me sick to think that I did that to someone I love.” Well shit…Love had just slipped out, but he couldn’t take it back now. He watched as Cerise’s grip on her pillow loosened, really staring at him with eyes wide now, lips slightly parted. This man…loved her? Is that what he had just said? She made him feel something? This tall, perpetually irritated, brooding guy? Her words were caught in her throat. Cerise wasn’t entirely sure how to respond, but she wasn’t mad anymore. She couldn’t be mad after all of that.

Okay so…she wasn’t saying anything still. Wasn’t turning him away, wasn’t fighting him. Cerise had genuinely listened, and even seemed to…maybe feel for him? The way she was staring at him, well it only made him babble on further. “You’re beautiful, you’re irritating, you’re hilarious, and absolutely adorable when you’re excited. Around you, my heart stops, then it skips…More than anything, I wish I could love you like you deserve…kiss you, hold you…the right way…” What the Hell was he doing? He should have left it as it was, but he was a complete mess around her.

Vanderwood was floundering. How could he fix this? He sure as Hell couldn’t let her just respond to all of that. “But…please don’t say you love me back. If you do, I won’t be able to go back. I’ve already put you in so much danger in the short time I’ve known you…but if you keep letting me be around you, spend time with you…I might not be able to leave you after this is all over.”

Cerise just…the way he was talking had her heart fluttering despite a heavy feeling on her chest. Did she love him? She’d only met him a week ago. She stared at him, her honey-gold eyes trying to search for an answer to her own feelings. Cerise couldn’t deny that she was attracted to him, that she probably had somewhat of a crush…but was it love? What she _did_ know was that despite his demeanor, she did like for him to be around…even poked at his nerves to get a rise out of him, so his attention would be on her. Nobody had ever said they felt that way about her before, not genuinely. Cerise knew that she had never been this confused in her entire life, either.

He really felt he looked pathetic, sitting there on the floor of her hotel room, spilling his feelings and then trying to push her away again. Hell, he was fucking insane. This was the best way. She deserved the honesty, and she’d know why she couldn’t be around him. “But I do want to make it up to you…so just tell me what I can do.” Finally, something normal to say.

Before she could really even realize what she was doing, Cerise lowered herself to the floor in front of him, embracing the much larger man. “…You can stay. Please stay…” She knew that was probably the opposite of what he had wanted to hear, but she couldn’t help herself…not after everything he had told her. At first, Vanderwood tensed up, wanting to run away even as his heart did that now familiar backflip, but he relaxed and wrapped his arms around her as well. Cerise wanted him to stay? “I…don’t think I should…but I will.” He felt like he wanted to kiss her, but strangely it wasn’t like when he’d pressed her against the wall. Vanderwood didn’t understand himself. “Cerise…I think you should let go…”

What even was his life right now? His face was flushed, and it felt like little strings were connecting him to her even more so than before. It really wasn’t a good idea to hold her like this, and yet, he didn’t want to let go. For Cerise, the feeling she had when he said that he would say was indescribable, it felt like she had been holding her breath and had just been able to breathe again. She felt comforted and _right_ sitting there with his arms wrapped around her. As soon as he suggested that she let go of him, her response to that was to only hold him tighter. “Don’t wanna…”

She was so obstinate, and his heart was just a goner at this point. Vanderwood closed his eyes and turned his face towards her, nuzzling into her hair. Cerise smelled like heaven. He held her closer, mumbling softly. “I want to kiss you…” His face filled harshly with red. “Not…like before. I just want to….kiss you, the right way. So really…you should let go.” Why could he never make his words work when he was with her? Even at that, kissing her again, without it being a part of his addiction, that wasn’t a particularly good idea with how attached he already was to her.

Cerise was lost in her own head. He wanted to kiss her again…the right way? What even was the _right way_ to kiss someone? Certainly not what he did before. Her mind was screaming at her, but she pulled away and let go anyways, looking up and into his eyes. “…So, you plan to give me a proper first kiss this time?” She was blushing madly. Why couldn’t she learn to _not_ talk? Her lack of filter was going to be the end of her one day.

They were both flustered now. “Is that a yes?” That just made the blush on her face grow, her heart pounding in her ears. Vanderwood was thinking her eyes were so beautiful, and he couldn’t look away from her. He slid his hand along her cheek, leaning forward, their lips so close they were nearly brushing. What was he doing? He stroked her lower lip with his thumb. “It doesn’t count as a first kiss unless you kiss back anyway…” His heart was doing acrobatics in his chest, and his breath stilled, his voice low and barely above a whisper. Everything in him wanted to kiss her, but he wouldn’t until he had her answer.

Cerise felt like her heart was going to escape her chest with how hard it was beating. He was so close to her again, and it felt so different from before. The way he had slid his hand along her cheek, the way his thumb brushed over her bottom lip, it gave her butterflies in her stomach. It was such a bizarre but not unwelcomed feeling for her. She finally nodded, just a small motion, not trusting her dumb mouth not to say something stupid again.

Vanderwood pressed his lips to hers then, holding her to him by the hand on her cheek and wrapping his other arm around her again. He was taking his time, being slow, gentle, in a way he never had before. This felt right. This was what she deserved, and this was what he wanted. Everything in him felt so _alive_. Could he ever let her go now. Damn it, he wanted to be with her forever, but he would do everything in his power to protect her and keep her safe. She was the only thing, the only person he needed right now. There was no pain, he needed no cigarettes, no sex, just this kiss.

For Cerise, it just felt so different. She had zero experience to call upon, so she literally had no idea what she was doing or how she was supposed to feel, but the feeling she had as he kissed her gently was nothing short of amazing. What was she supposed to do with her hands? It felt most natural to let them wrap around his torso, so that’s what she did. She had watched people kiss so many times in person or on TV, but never imagined that it would feel this good or this right. She was sure her response to him gave away her blatant inexperience. Cerise talked a big game, but in reality, she had no clue. All she could really do was go with the flow and do what felt right.

She seemed so unsure of herself, which initially made him worry, but Cerise was kissing him back and had wrapped her arms around him once more. Vanderwood slid his hand from her cheek into her hair, forcing himself to keep things from going further, and he found it…surprisingly easy to do. But he couldn’t keep kissing her forever, as much as he wanted to. He didn’t think she was ready for anything more than this simple chaste kiss, so he pulled back and rested his head against hers. “Think I’m forgiven?” Even after he pulled away from her, the fluttery feeling was still there, and she knew she was still probably super red. “…For now. _Vanderjerk_.” She laughed a little at her own joke, happy she hadn’t completely shut down.

Cerise enjoyed this proximity. She had never gotten this close to anyone before, and it felt nice. Vanderwood thought it had been a really bad idea to kiss her. There was no way he wanted to let her return to her normal life without him. That wasn’t something he could prevent, though, not without massive potential consequences. And yet…Vanderwood didn’t give a shit…He would gladly face those consequences if it meant staying with Cerise. As long as they would go over him and not her. “I don’t think I could ever leave you now…” His voice came out much softer and quiet than he was used to. Was he scaring her? Probably…but he’d decided to be honest with her, so that’s what he was doing.

Her heart was beating faster again. “…Who said I wanted you to?” At this point, she was undeniably attached to this man, in such a short amount of time. Was that how it was supposed to happen? She didn’t know, but she wasn’t complaining. Vanderwood snorted softly, stroking her hair. Was that a normal thing to do? Her blush was so adorable. He kissed her again, soft and slow, though he broke away a little quicker that time as he couldn’t help but graze his tongue along her lower lip.

The second kiss that came was unexpected and sent her into a small daze. He was so gentle and nothing like she had expected, and _what did he do there at the end, oh God_. It was a pleasant surprise for her though, and the thought of someone who was as rough around the edges as him being gentle and affectionate made her heart melt. She was definitely smitten. There’d been crushes before that had led nowhere, but nothing like this.

His heart was going haywire, and even just a kiss like that felt better than anything he’d ever experienced. But he didn’t want to go too far with her. “I guess you’re stuck with me…And I _will_ take you out somewhere tomorrow. I’ll…teach you something first, but…then we can go wherever you want.” Cerise shifted so she could hug him again, enjoying the warm tingly feeling it gave her. “Guess so, lucky you, huh?” She teased and nuzzled into him slightly. “Teach me something, though? Like what? Neat secret agent stuff?”

“Something like that…yeah.” He tightened his arms around her. What he was going to teach her was for all intents and purposes something she should never have had to learn, but if he was going to keep her safe, it was imperative that she knew how, just in case – especially now. Vanderwood wasn’t exactly sure what the status of their relationship was right now, but any sort of relationship with him meant hurting her would be more fun for Drawl.

It was so strange to him, holding her like this, feeling how warm she was in his arms, and the way they were so comfortably chatting now. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head, awkwardly, unsure of what was normal or okay. “I am most definitely a lucky man…” They sat like that for a while before he gave her a kiss goodnight and went back to bed, staring at the ceiling for a while, thinking of her with a warm feeling in his chest.

Cerise had enjoyed being there with him so much that she almost hadn’t wanted him to go. That night after he had left, she had trouble going to sleep. She just couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had happened that day…about him. Cerise brought her hands up to her lips for a second time that day, a blush spreading over her features as she recalled the feeling. Cerise tried to play around with her phone, but not even that could distract her from all the thoughts whirling around in her head. Sleep wasn’t going to come easy, but eventually it did.

Check out my website for more. [~Let's Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	6. A Day Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood fulfills his promise to take Cerise out and give her some much needed reprieve from the monotony of their hotel stay.

***Cherrywood continues, going on what could technically be called their first date =0 It's going to be a while before they ever have a life that's considered 'normal' isn't it? Kinda same for me here, going through some financial issues at the moment, but such is life sometimes. I will *eventually* get around to working on Seven Good Ending Continued, but there is a lot more research and prep involved with his character arc, so it may take some time. #accuracymatters  In the meantime, please continue enjoying Tagged! There *is* a hidden scene this week of Vandy and Cerise at the cell-phone store, so check out my website linked at the end of the chapter for more information. ~Let's Connect! FFC***

Cerise didn’t know when she finally fell asleep, but an annoying _beeping_ was trying to interrupt that precious time. Grumbling, she pulled her covers over her head and tried to ignore the sound, drifting back off to sleep. In the other room Vanderwood was getting up, doing his morning exercises. God, why wasn’t she turning off her alarm? He grumbled and put his earbuds in as he continued his routine. _As long as it wasn’t Secret Agent Man..._

The sound didn’t bother Cerise again, and she ended up waking up from sleep on her own, stretching under the hotel covers. They were nowhere near as fluffy or cute as her covers at her apartment, and she didn’t have as many pillows, but it wasn’t so bad. Maybe she could convince Vanderwood to get her a cute shaped pillow for while they were still at the hotel. She grabbed for her phone, sleepily checking the time _. The time! Oh crap_ … She hadn’t meant to sleep in this late! Cerise ran around her hotel room, finding the clothes she wanted to wear and then quickly brushing her teeth and hair. She was hoping that he was running a little behind too as she threw off her pajamas, just tossing them anywhere for now. At the time, she didn’t have _time_ to care.

Vanderwood already had everything in the car, other than the one gun he carried in his go bag. He tucked that one into the back of his pants so that it pressed against the small of his back before grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. It was well hidden there, thanks in part to his jacket and his penchant for loose fabric shirts. The thought of spending more time taking Cerise somewhere had him blushing like crazy. He was definitely infatuated. Now he made his way back up to the rooms, spending a few more minutes in his and wondering what she was doing. It seemed like she was taking her sweet time getting ready, and he couldn’t hear anything from her room.

He raised an eyebrow and opened the door between their rooms, just wanting to check, thinking that she was sleeping since he didn’t hear much of anything. “Cerise? Are you…ready….” His voice trailed off as he took in the sight in front of him, completely frozen, rooted to the spot. Cerise was hooking her bra, in a bra and panty set that _he_ had technically purchased for her. Something about that was incredibly erotic. Vanderwood couldn’t move. His mind wandered, and he internally slapped himself, heat rising fast in his face but still unable to do anything but stare.

She hadn’t noticed the door opening at first, fighting with the clasp of her bra, and it took her a moment to notice the voice. When she turned her head towards the voice, her brain took a moment to catch up with the situation at hand. At first, she was frozen, and then her brain started to work again, causing her face to turn completely red. Was he staring at her? He was _definitely_ staring at her. “NO I’M NOT READY YET! GET OUT!” Her first instinct was to chuck pillows at him, so that’s what she did before grabbing her remaining clothes from the bed and disappearing into the bathroom.

“I didn’t mean to!” He didn’t even bother to knock the pillows away, letting them hit him as he fled back to his room. Was it even possible for him to get any redder at this point? Now he was banging his head against the wall in an attempt to get the image of her out of his mind. _God I’m the worst. Think about something else…_ He looked around the room trying to think of anything to distract him, but not really finding much. _Guns. You’re going to shoot guns. Think about shooting guns._ Finally…something worked. Vanderwood sighed in relief before gently knocking on the door, this time waiting for an answer. “Hey…Let me know when you’re ready…”

It felt like she was getting dressed more quickly than she ever had in her entire life. She was trying to block out of her brain that he had seen her in her underwear. The fact that they had kissed only made it worse. Wait. Didn’t he…buy these for her? Oh God. _Oh God._ That thought hadn’t crossed her mind until just now. _Vanderwood had picked out and bought her underwear._ Cerise felt like she could die right then and there. She walked out of the bathroom and jumped when she heard a knock, the sound of his voice making her face even more red. “I’m…I’m ready now.” At this point, she was trying _really_ hard to keep calm, but her voice was betraying her, coming out in a higher pitch than usual. She really needed to pull herself together.

After a deep breath to get his own blush under control, Vanderwood opened the door. Even clothed, she had his mind slipping to the image from earlier and the raging blush was back. _Nope. You will be decent._ He internally slapped himself for what felt like the tenth time that day. “I uh…I didn’t mean to…walk in on you like that.” He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, biting his tongue before he went to open the door for her and lead her towards the car. “Let’s get going then?”

Their walk to the car had been quiet, and now the drive to wherever they were going was quiet. What could you even _say_ after that? Vanderwood was attempting to figure that out himself, and he finally figured he should tell her what they were doing. “I’m going to teach you how to shoot a gun.” Oh good, his words were actually working pretty well. “Just in case…I’m not around when something happens. I want you to be able to protect yourself. I’m not letting the best thing that ever happened to me get hurt.” Okay, so his words were working _too_ well. He hadn’t meant to say it quite like that. Too late now.

Cerise was honestly oddly excited when he said he was teaching her to shoot a gun. A scary gun in the hands of cute her? It was sure to be an instant hit with her followers when she posted the inevitable selfie. The next part of his explanation just made her blush. She was the best thing to ever happen to him? It seemed that he really knew what to say to make her heart melt, though she hoped she’d never have to use a gun due to him not being around. That thought was scary, but she pushed it to the back of her mind, grinning at him with her obvious blush and putting a hand on his shoulder, her sing-song voice very much in evidence. “I’m ready to learn, Mister Secret Agent Vanderwood.”

He had been watching her reaction from the corner of his eye, seeing the little bit of excitement coupled with a bit of fear. She really should be afraid, and he felt like shit for doing that to her, since it was his fault she’d gotten kidnapped and shoved into his life. Her flirting just had him biting his tongue and nodding his head, not trusting his words when he felt like he was dying of cute. At least by the time he reached the empty wooded area outside of town, he felt like he was in control of himself. Enough to handle a gun anyway.

He went around to help her out of the car, not that she really needed it, but Cerise wasn’t complaining. As he grabbed a few empty cans from the back of the vehicle, PHD Pepper from that idiot redhead, Cerise looked around the woods looking back to him to see him pull a gun from the small of his back. So, that was where he hid it? Vanderwood checked it over, ensuring it was properly loaded. This one would probably be easier for her to work with since it was the smallest out of the two he had with him, not nearly as heavy, the only drawback would be the recoil.

She watched curiously as he set the three cans on a fallen log. “Right, so…” He walked back to her, holding out some earplugs towards her. “You’re going to want these. Obviously, you wouldn’t have time in a real situation, but might as well not blow out your eardrums when you’re practicing.” That earned him a snarky remark from her, a snort escaping him as she talked. “Oh, right. Best to blow them out later. Gotcha.” Damn, she was something. Vanderwood almost wanted to kiss her. He was really out of his element with this whole…romance type thing.

Right, he was supposed to be teaching her to shoot. First, he showed her how to turn the safety on and off before going over everything else, coming back to the safety feature once more. “If you remember nothing else, remember the safety. Alright, pop those ear plugs in for me, and I’ll show you how to do this.”

Vanderwood placed his own ear plugs in. Sure, his ears were beyond damaged by now, but why make it worse when he had the opportunity not to? Cerise had listened intently and now placed her ear plugs in, watching as he positioned himself and shot one of the cans off the log, deciding to leave the other two for her. She jumped a little when the gun went off, amazed at how effortless he made it seem. It was pretty cool, though. Now that Vanderwood was turning towards her and pulling his own ear plugs out, she did the same.

He held the gun out to her, so she could grab it handle first. “So, ready to give it a try?” This earned him a wink that made his heart stop completely for a full two seconds. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” Once more he found himself biting his tongue to make his head work. “Alright, shortcake.” Okay, so, he just called her a pet name. Vanderwood was internally dying, heat filling his face. Romance was not his forte’, not at all. It didn’t help that she was giggling at him now as she took the gun. “Shortcake, huh?” It felt weird to actually be holding a gun. This small thing could do so much damage, even take a life. “You don’t like being my shortcake?” His own comment had him so confused. Why did words just keep falling out of his mouth? Cerise was blushing hard too, and for once in her life, she had no comeback.

He realized that he needed to keep going, get this done before he said anything else ridiculous. “You’re going to want to put both hands on the gun.” Vanderwood leaned down, wrapping his arms around her, his head just above her shoulder as he positioned her hands, feeling the warmth of her against his chest. That wasn’t helping his blush at all, and with Vanderwood’s close proximity, Cerise couldn’t help but to blush too.

“It’s going to have quite a bit of recoil, since it’s not very heavy, so make sure you hold it tight so it doesn’t buck back in your face. Be ready for it.” At the moment, it was a miracle that he could actually talk. “Now, show me how you stand, and I’ll correct you.” Hopefully that would be easier, except… _Oh God, she’s wearing a skirt._ Cue the extreme blush again. Shit, he hoped he wouldn’t have to fix her position too much.

Cerise wasn’t thinking about her skirt. It seemed easy enough to shoot a gun, but she was rather worried about the recoil he mentioned. A busted-up face wasn’t good for selfies. She did her best to mimic his stance though. “This…doesn’t feel quite right.” Then she changed her stance a little more to something she thought felt a little more comfortable. “Like this?” Vanderwood realized almost as soon as she had moved again that her stance needed correcting. _Damn it._ Her hips weren’t quite right, and thank God he didn’t have to touch her skin to skin thanks to his gloves. “Here.”

Vanderwood was gentle as he put his hands on her hips, guiding her as his face slowly turned more red. Now he carefully touched her inner thigh, to get her to spread her legs properly _. Jesus._ He had to bite his tongue to keep from bringing up an image from earlier. It had been too long for him, even just a couple of weeks, but he could surely behave better than this. At this point, Cerise felt she was probably as stiff as a robot, as she struggled to keep her eyes forward on the can that were her targets. Anything to keep her brain from completely shutting down when she had a _gun_ in her hands and his hands on her. He was touching the inside of her thigh now. _Oh God._ She tried to tell herself to calm down and loosen up.

His heart was slamming against his rib cage as he pulled away, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Thank God that was over. How could she mess with him so much when she wasn’t even his type? Or maybe the thing was she was the only woman who _was_ his type. He certainly loved her, felt about her like he’d never felt for anyone else, and she didn’t want anything from him. It felt so good to be around someone who didn’t want anything from him except his presence. Vanderwood shook his head at himself. It wasn’t the time to be thinking about that. “Alright, so try to hit those two cans for me. You have seven shots left in this gun.” He noticed the way she seemed so tense and lightly touched her shoulders. “And relax.”

Carefully, he moved her wealth of hair to the side to place her earplugs for her, putting in his own after and standing back to give her a questioning look with a thumbs-up. Cerise had let herself relax a little in response to his gentle touch. With her ear plugs in now, she took a deep breath, whispering to herself, although she couldn’t really hear it. “You can do this.” He had given her a thumbs-up, but it took her a minute to gather up the nerve to actually shoot the thing. She was able to successfully shoot the gun the first time, but the recoil did scare her, causing a yelp in surprise.

Vanderwood was watching her, a chuckle escaping him at the yelp. That was to be expected. Honestly, she looked really fucking good with a gun in her hands _. Stop that._ He had to reprimand himself, watching her next shot miss. Thanks to the ear plugs, he wasn’t able to hear her mumbling to herself. “Third time’s the charm.” She took another deep breath and tried to focus, her third shot finally hitting a can. Vanderwood was impressed, watching her relax and lower the gun, putting the safety back on before she turned to look at him with a big smile and a thumbs-up of her own.

That simple action made his heart swell a little, and Jesus, he really wanted to give her a kiss right then, gun and all. Even with the safety on, it was best to get his hands on the weapon too. His hand closed over the top of the gun, lowering her hands so that it was pointed to the ground as his other hand took her chin gently. Vanderwood bent his head to hers, not quite kissing her yet, by some miracle letting her close the gap if she wanted to. He was going to have to work on his self-control, clearly, but at least he had the clear thinking to let her make the final decision. Was he actually holding his breath as he waited?

Cerise had been searching for his approval, and she guessed this meant she had earned it. She could feel her heart in her throat, the fact that her ear plugs were still in only making it more obvious to her how hard and quickly her heart was beating. It was like he was waiting for an answer from her. He acted totally different now than what he had previously described himself to be. She might have been able to imagine it at first, but it was kind of hard to now. Cerise closed the gap between them, bringing her free hand up to touch his face. Now she was wondering how much it would take for her heart to actually beat out of her chest, because she was pretty sure that it was close to doing so.

His heart was pounding in his ears as she kissed him, partly because of the earplugs, but mostly because of the way he reacted to Cerise. Nothing in his life had prepared him for what it felt like to be with her. Vanderwood took his time in the kiss, removing the gun from her hand completely before he broke away, bumping her nose softly with his. She grinned and nuzzled him. Kissing him felt nice, and besides the first time, it always had so far.

He snorted softly. Vanderwood didn’t want to pull away from her at first, enjoying the feeling of her hand against his cheek, wanting to kiss her more, but she would still need time. In fact, he still needed time, to be sure he wasn’t going to hurt her. If he ever did something like what he’d done the first time they’d kissed, Vanderwood didn’t think he’d be able to forgive himself. He tucked the gun back in its place at the small of his back. “I guess I’ll have to get you your own gun. But for now, I believe I owe you a trip out somewhere _you_ want to go.” Where would she want to go? All in all, he didn’t know too much about her, other than that she loved social media, Spanish dramas, and phones. She was definitely a phone nut. An adorable one at that.

She was realizing that she had completely forgotten to take a selfie with the gun, which probably would have annoyed him, now that she thought about it. Cerise could almost hear him scolding her, something like ‘Guns are not props!’ Oh well, she’d have another chance one day, especially… ”My own gun? Do you think they have they have them in pink? Oh! Or maybe even ones with cute designs on them?” She had seen such guns on aesthetic blogs, but she didn’t know if they were _real_ or if it was possible to buy them like that if they were.

The second part of what he’d said only processed now. Somewhere she wanted to go? Right…”You did say I could pick out any accessories I wanted for my phone, so…” She latched herself to his arm and attempted to drag him to the car. “Let’s go and get some!” Cerise was always excited for anything that had to do with her phone, especially when it came to decorating it. A boring phone was _not_ a happy phone. Besides, her phone needed to look as good in a mirror as she did.

Vanderwood hadn’t expected her to be so excited about a gun, and he honestly had no idea whether they came in pink. His had always been agency issue, but if she wanted a pink one or one with designs, he would find it for her. That was a little weird to him still, wanting to do something like that for her just because it would bring a smile to her face, even though he thought it was somewhat ridiculous. To see her excited like this warmed him in ways he’d never known were possible. From anyone else, her attempt to drag him would have been met with harsh resistance, but instead he feigned like she was dragging him along towards the car, all the time chuckling at how incredibly adorable she was.

It was obvious to him that she loved her phone and aesthetics. She was a beautiful woman, so it only made sense for her to have beautiful things. He furrowed his brows a little. Well, _he_ sure as Hell wasn’t _beautiful_ , but he’d get her whatever cute shit she wanted…As long as she didn’t try to put it anywhere near him, other than herself. He wanted her near him all the time. As they got in the car he nodded towards her as he pulled the car back out onto the road. “Find your phone store then.”

Cerise was quick to comply with his request. That was one thing she loved about Korea, it was so much easier to find stores like this than in France where she had to do online shopping to get what she wanted. By the looks of the pictures in the description on the website, it had everything she would be looking for. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on some cute new accessories. As attached as she was to her old ones, they _were_ pretty dated. After giving Vanderwood the address, she busied herself with her cellphone. A short while went by before she stared at the screen perplexed. “Uh…what does it mean when someone says they want to ‘eat you like a cannoli’ and then ‘take you to Pound Town’? Where even is Pound Town?”

Everything was fine, going well, the world seemed beautiful, and then Cerise asked _that_. Vanderwood went through a surprising range of emotions in just a matter of a second: surprise, laughter, and then finally landing on anger. Obviously, that wasn’t directed at her, but whoever the Hell was sending her messages like that. “That’s not a place.” His eyebrow twitched. Already he was pulling over and holding out his hand. “Phone.” Whoever this was, he was in for a world of hurt. Why was he even so angry? It didn’t really matter. Vanderwood wanted this creep taken care of.

“Sounds like some sort of amusement park to me, but…honestly I’d rather not get eaten.” Cerise looked around confused as he pulled over. Her initial thought was that something was wrong, but when he held out his hand and requested that she hand over her phone, she placed it in his hand, trusting him not to throw it out the window. Why would he hurt it if he was taking her to get accessories for it, anyways? “Just, try not to hurt it or anything, okay?”

Vanderwood sighed heavily as he took her phone, trying to go for bluntness was much more difficult with a subject like this for some reason. He should be able to talk about it, out of all people, but his tongue twisted, finally untwisting at her request. “Cerise…he’s talking about sex. Of course I won’t hurt your phone.” Almost as soon as Vanderwood was looking at her phone, a few more creepy messages popped up along with a picture of the stranger’s _lower extremities_ followed by a ‘like wut u see?’ with a ton of eggplant emojis. Previous messages revealed that the conversation had started out rather pleasant, the guy seemed genuinely interested in what she liked and where she was from. She had explained that she had moved to Korea from France and all the places she wanted to visit, prompting the creepy messages about ‘Pound Town.’

His eyebrow was _really_ twitching now. This piece of shit was going to get it. The text speak was a little hard to follow other than that he’d been dealing with it from Seven for years. The eggplants he didn’t understand at all, but that picture. Vanderwood removed the gun from its place at the small of his back, taking a photo and sending it back. `Do u like wat u see` Typing like that hurt his perfectionist mind, but he tried to type like Cerise simply for the added shock value. Of course, that wasn’t enough to just threaten him with a gun, so he was already sending the guy’s number to Seven as he messaged one handed on his own phone. Guys like this annoyed him incredibly, even more so since this person was messaging Cerise. At least when _he_ wanted a hook up, he was up front about it. This kind of guy went from ‘I care about you’ to ‘I want you in bed’ without warning and would always be on his shitlist.

Cerise had made a noise of disgust to Vanderwood’s explanation. “What a creep.” Watching in confusion as Vanderwood took out his gun and sent a picture, prompting her to giggle. It was cute in a way. She never quite knew how to handle these types of people anyway. It wasn’t like that had been the first time she’d gotten that type of message; that was a given with popular accounts. She had just never heard of those terms before. Cerise wouldn’t even have responded, but the guy had seemed so nice at first.

Apparently, the guy _had_ liked what he saw and responded with another picture of himself. `I got sumthin else 4 u 2 shoot.` Vanderwood had a feeling his eyebrow was going to remain in a state of twitching for a while. He dialed Seven’s number, thankful for how quickly the redhead picked up. “That info I just sent you, troll your heart out for me.” Seven was exactly the perfect guy for this kind of thing. This was really right up his alley. “Also, if you could send his pictures to his mother for me, or anyone in his family really.” Vanderwood listened as the redhead mentioned something about putting the guy’s information on public boards. “Yeah. Go for it.”

Now the redhead was laughing, so excited that he was probably loud enough for Cerise to hear now. “You’re not usually this angry. Ooooo! Is it the girl? Good old Mary Vanderwood has a crush!” Vanderwod clenched his jaw. He was getting more irritated, but also, maybe embarrassed was the word. Blushing like a maniac was a new thing to him, and he wasn’t particularly fond of how it was happening right now. “Tell me more, she doesn’t seem like your type.” Vanderwood’s voice went a little gruff. “Just shut up and do it.” He hung up before typing out another reply to the creepy guy. `Have fun.`

Cerise watched him and raised an eyebrow. The guy on the other end of the phone sounded excitable. She knew _of_ the guy, but had never actually heard or seen him. She just knew they stopped by his house to switch cars that one time. Was Vanderwod blushing? He was totally blushing. Cerise felt heat rise to her own cheeks. Great, she was too. “Yeah…so…” She stared at him intently as he pulled back onto the road after handing her phone back to her, heading towards the cell phone store again. “Mary? Youre real name is Mary?” Now she snickered a little. It was such a feminine name for someone like him. 

That redhead was annoying as Hell. “It’s Marion. Pretty sure my dad was high when he named me.” Cerise was trying to contain her giggles and mostly failing. His name was essentially _Marie_ in French. There was something hilariously beautiful about that. The giggling faded as she thought about the rest that Seven had said. “Um…so…what _is_ your type?” That phrase ‘his type’ she’d heard it a lot in the short time they’d been around each other, and apparently _she wasn’t it_ , and it was plaguing at the back of her mind.

With her next question, he sighed heavily again as he drove before biting his tongue. This was the kind of thing that had him itching for a cigarette. Thankfully, it wasn’t enough to have him needing a different kind of fix. Even the thought of girls who were supposedly ‘his type’ made him sick now. “I’ve never really been with a woman romantically. It’s always been escorts and hookups…so tall with tons of curves, I guess.” That came out a little weird. “It’s always been emotionlessly getting my fix. I don’t actually have any interest in any of them.” If he hadn’t been driving, he would have been rubbing at the back of his head. It felt so odd to have these types of conversations, but maybe they were necessary. “You…make me feel completely different.”

His type was…pretty much the polar opposite of what she was. She wasn’t tall at all, and she _definitely_ didn’t have any curves to speak of. All her friends back home had been that type. As cute as she was, guys seemed to go for the girls who were well endowed and blessed with legs for miles. Cerise seemed to have gotten the short end of the stick, literally. He said he didn’t have any interest, and she understood that there was addiction involved, but she still couldn’t help but to feel…insecure? Disappointed? It wasn’t a normal feeling for her, she was very confident in her looks…so why did this feel so different? “Oh, h-hey! I can see the store down there!” A change of subject was definitely needed, and being in the store would be a great help.

(Hidden Scene of Vanderwood and Cerise at the cell-phone store, check out my website linked at the end of the chapter for more information.)

After an extensive bout of shopping, Cerise had created what was likely her cutest phone yet, and Vanderwood had essentially gone on what was his first ever date, he figured. That was such a weird thought as old as he was and as many women as he’d been with. Really, he’d rather not think about it and just start over with Cerise. Maybe that was something he could actually do now, start over?

His thoughts were broken as they made it to the hotel, and he helped her out as usual, but something seemed…off? Vanderwood couldn’t quite put his finger on it. His eyes searched the parking lot. Nothing strange there. As they walked inside, he kept just a little closer to her than he even usually would, and then he knew why he was on edge. One of his least favorite redheads, Jessica, was leaning over the lobby table, probably showing off her cleavage to the guy there and trying to gather information. She and Drawl must have been sweeping the different hotels. This wasn’t good.

Cerise had watched him with a confused expression as he tensed up in the parking lot. Did he have some sort of weird secret agent sense or something? She couldn’t help but feel a little tense too as she walked beside him. Vanderwood stopped Cerise by putting his hand lightly on her shoulder, but she was still startled enough to jump. At least she hadn’t yelped. Fear was swamping him, a feeling he was starting to get used to dealing with when it came to Cerise. He took his bag off his shoulder and removed the gun from the small of his back, placing it in there. “Cerise, I need you to listen very carefully.”

He made eye contact with her to make sure she was listening, and she nodded, the serious tone he was taking with her telling her that the situation must have been bad. Vanderwood took out the two hotel cards and placed them both in her hands before handing her the bag. “Go up to the room, and stay inside. Keep the gun in your hands. You should have four bullets left. If anyone tries to enter the room without saying...” His voice trailed off for just a moment as he grabbed the first word that came to mind. “Caleb, do not let them in.” So, using his brother’s name, not a bad time for that information really. No one else knew anyway. “I’ll be up there soon. Remember the name.”

What he wanted right now was to kiss her deeply, tell her that everything would be alright, but it wasn’t the time. “Caleb.” Cerise repeated it to him, indicating that she understood before she was making her way up to the rooms, Vanderwood watching her go to make sure she wasn’t followed. Obviously, she would be scared, and if he was being honest, he was too. For the first time in a long time, he had something to live for other than the fear of death. He wanted this not to be their first and last day out.

Check out my website. [~Let's Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)

 


	7. Ode to Jessica

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood takes care of the enemy they discovered at their hotel as Cerise waits for him in the hotel room.

***I'm so sorry I didn't post last week. I was getting a medical procedure done and was in too much pain afterwards that I hadn't been expecting. T_T Good news, posting continues! Also, check out this week's hidden scene Jessica Backstory, find out about that on my website - link at the end of the chapter. =0 ~Let's Connect! FFC***

Cerise had made it to the room with no incident, and she made sure that she was quiet, listening for anything that could be out of place. If she were perfectly honest, she was scared and rather worried. Vanderwood had seemed nervous, and that only made Cerise feel all the more worried. Would he be okay? He had to have been trained for this stuff, right? She sat in the corner of the hotel room and waited for him to come up.

In the lobby, Jessica still seemed to be hitting on the desk clerk. Vanderwood approached her from behind carefully, not wanting to clue her in on his position until he spoke, to give himself the edge of being the one to surprise _her_ and not the other way around. "Hey, sweetheart. Don't you wanna come up to my room?"

The redhead spun on her oddly spiked heel and smiled broadly. Vanderwood, just the man she was looking for. It was unfortunate that the girl wasn’t with him, but she could always find that target later. He was the more dangerous target anyway. "Well hello, Korean Casanova." Jessica flicked her hair over her shoulder as she fixed her vibrant green eyes on the brown of Vanderwood’s. He’d been a thorn in her side, always keeping her from completing her missions from the moment they’d met, so Drawl wasn’t the only one who had a grudge. Still, this wasn’t about grudges, it was about _winning_ against him. (Jessica Backstory, learn about it on my website - linked at the end of the chapter.)

Vanderwood snorted at that old nickname she insisted on calling him, even though he’d told her many a time that he wasn’t Korean. He just turned his back to her, tilting his head just enough that he could watch her as she followed him, the clerk she’d been flirting with staring after the two of them with confusion. There was a dark area underneath the stairs, and neither of them wanted to be obvious about what they were doing, so it worked as their battleground. It was better than going outside of the hotel around back where there would be cameras.

Of course, as soon as they were out of sight of any people, Jessica rushed at him. There was a smirk on her face and her heart was racing as she made her first move. Vanderwood was good at what he did, but his major problem was being slow. Still, he had been ready for this kind of attack; she was faster, but he was prepared, dropping off to the side and grabbing for her leg. _Fuck._ Something pierced through his glove, and his hand started to burn painfully before it began to throb. One of her hidden poison needles. Still, he yanked her to the ground with him and towards him.

Jessica was far too full of adrenaline to even bother with feeling afraid, attempting to catch him with her spiked heel as he pulled her towards him, but he pushed that leg away. "Alright, Jessi." Vanderwood flipped over on top of her, grabbing her wrists and placing them into the now throbbing hand before grabbing her neck with the other. "I have someone to protect. No hard feelings." The redheaded woman was staring up at him, her green eyes going wide as she now attempted to struggle out of his grip. The pin in his hand should have rendered it useless, but it was like he barely felt it. It couldn’t end like this for her could it really? Was she losing?

This was his least favorite part of his job. But Hell. Jessica was a ripe bitch, and her agency was into far worse activities than his was. He just killed scumbags who somehow managed to avoid justice by the law, but they were one of those groups who spent their time creating those organizations and fostering them. Vanderwood was talking himself out of being merciful as he felt her struggling less and less, the lack of oxygen making it impossible for her to stay awake. Once she finally passed out, he let go of her wrists and snapped her neck. God, that sound was the worst, but she was dead. That was one threat to Cerise down, one to go.

He was slow to stand, feeling pretty damn sick to his stomach, like he always did after that sound. His hand was in terrible pain, but he should probably get to Cerise sooner rather than later. Like he’d said, he had someone to protect. It was a relief to him that she would be just that little bit safer now. He shoved Jessica’s body into a dark area nearby, sending a message for cleanup request to Seven before making his way up the stairs. They’d need to get to a new hotel too, since now Drawl’s agency would know this was where he and Cerise had been staying.

“Caleb.” Vanderwood started to pull off his glove as he waited for Cerise to answer the door.

Time had gone by so slowly while Cerise waited for him to return. She had no idea what had happened down there or why it seemed to be taking so long, and she was beginning to panic. Her mind went to the worst-case scenario as though it was the only option, but she tried to quickly push it to the back of her mind. _'He's going to be okay...everything will be okay.'_ She was repeating that to herself over and over again when, finally, Cerise heard the word she had been waiting for. She got up and ran to the door as fast as she could, pulling it open, and wasting no time to throw herself into his torso, holding onto him in a tight embrace. "Thank goodness...you're okay."

Vanderwood instantly relaxed into her embrace, even though his hand felt like it was on literal fire. "Of course I'm okay, shortcake. I had to come back to you." It was strange for him, how he could smile after something like that, but it simply felt good that she had seemingly been so worried about him. He ran his good hand through her hair before making a soft grunt as his other hand cramped painfully. His glove was off now, and he could see that the fleshy portion of his hand had turned completely purple. Holy Hell it hurt. The first aid kit was in the bag he'd sent her into the room with, so he'd need to clean this off and bandage it until it healed. "I need to take care of this..." Vanderwood showed her his hand "And then we need to pack up and head for another hotel, since this one's compromised."

When he showed her his hand, she audibly squeaked at the sight. Cerise didn't think a purple hand was a good sign at all. "Oh my god, what happened?" Cerise pulled him into the bathroom before he could object, turning on the faucet and telling him to put his hand under it. Vanderwood was confused as he responded. “I just nicked myself on one of Jessica’s poison pins is all. It’ll go away in a day or two.” Just as quickly as she’d pulled him into the bathroom, she was gone and searching for the first aid kit, Vanderwood staring after her stunned. The squeak sound had caught him off guard, as adorable as it was, but her trying to take care of _him?_ That was just as shocking to him. No one in his life ever really took care of him and it had his face feeling hot as his heart grew wings like it was going to fly off.

Cerise found the first aid kit in the bag he had sent her up with, so she grabbed it and emptied the contents onto the bathroom counter. There were some things to clean his hand and some bandages, and honestly, she had _no idea_ what she was doing. All Cerise knew really, was that he was clearly in pain, and something needed to be done about it. She'd seen these things on her telenovelas and did her best to mimic what she had seen with a gentle touch. It looked right, but she wasn't sure if she actually did everything she needed to. Oh God, she sucked at this. Good thing she had no plans to become a doctor. "I...guess I did this right?"

Vanderwood had watched her fumble around with the bandages and other items, a little bit of blush appearing in his cheeks as she worked. Cerise was doing the best she knew how, and even though he could have done it much more quickly and easily himself, it just felt so good to let her do it. Her questioning remark had a smile spreading wide across his face as he bent to give her a quick and soft kiss.

Getting kisses for when he approved of something she did was quickly becoming one of her new favorite things. The show of affection gave her the fluttery feeling in her stomach again. She wanted to argue and fuss over him that his hand didn't look like he had gotten 'just a nick' from a pin, but she didn't want to stress him out further after he’d just dealt with God knows what. All that mattered was that he was safe and in one piece, especially if it was one of those nasty people from the first day. Cerise would prefer not to have to deal with them again.

He broke the kiss with a sigh. That wasn't nearly satisfying enough with all the stress he'd just been through. Vanderwood wanted to hold her closely and float on the idea of her being just that much safer and his good fortune in finding this person who seemed to be the only truly beautiful thing he'd ever had in his life. Still, he resigned himself to making the kiss a short one. It was safer for her that way with his addiction and the current situation, it was definitely far safer. They didn't have much time, since they needed to switch hotels before anyone else showed up. His hand was certainly out of commission, so that would make Drawl showing up much more difficult to deal with.

"We need to get going...Pick an expensive hotel from your phone for me, please." Why expensive? Usually he stayed in hovels, this had been a mid-ranked hotel, so luxury it was. "An...expensive one? If you say so..." Cerise gave his now bandaged hand a gentle kiss before she pulled out her phone and began to search, that simple little kiss making Vanderwood’s heart go crazy. Cerise was too busy looking through her phone to notice the look on his face. What did he even consider an expensive hotel? She came across one that had the word luxury in the name. The pictures her phone provided certainly looked nice.

Vanderwood had gone to grab his bag and anything he'd left in his room as she searched before grabbing things from hers. As he finished, Cerise came up to him to show him her phone with the hotel she’d decided on. “This one.” He did a brief skim of the information before nodding at her. "Perfect. Make sure I grabbed everything, we won't come back for anything that's left behind."

He was almost going to add 'Even your phone' but who was he really telling that to? Something told him that if she left her phone, at this point, he'd risk it to bring it back just for how happy she would be. He was seriously going insane. So that's why getting attached was so dangerous. Vanderwood snorted at himself.

Cerise scoured the room to make sure nothing was being left. Luckily, she had kept all of her things together...which wasn't much besides the clothes he had bought her before. If she had had time to pack, she would probably have brought tons of unnecessary things. First and foremost, she made sure she had her phone and charger. Leaving her phone would have been disastrous for her. Just to be sure, she gave the place another look before she was satisfied that she didn't leave anything. "That's it, I think we have everything. " She gave him a worried glance as they were leaving the room, the fact that he had come in contact with any sort of poison not sitting well with her.

Every time she threw him a worried glance, it made him feel like the luckiest man on Earth. Vanderwood offered her his bandaged hand to hold as he kept the bags in the other, slinging them over his shoulder. Cerise hadn’t thought that he was the type to hold hands, but she was also starting to realize that Vanderwood was full of surprises. She still took his hand slowly, careful not to squeeze the injury.

The desk clerk was surprisingly fast at checking them out of the hotel, probably helped along by the fact that Vanderwood was being so business only. Any attempt for more was met with a blank look, although he did occasionally squeeze Cerise's hand gently, not minding the sting it gave his palm. Every time he would squeeze her hand, it was like he was squeezing her heart just a little, and she liked it. Cerise would try to give a slight squeeze back but was worried about his hand. It was _purple_ for God's sake. **Purple**. Nobody's hand should be that color! She was thankful for his swift handling of the desk clerk, though, wanting to get out of that place as soon as possible

Once they were in the car, Vanderwood bit at his tongue, the memory of how she’d kissed his bandaged hand, bandaged by _her_ playing in his head now that he was sure they were on their way to safety. The drive to the other hotel would go pretty quickly, and the added bonus was that it wasn't far from where they had been staying. That was even more reason why it wouldn't make sense to stay there. "Thank you...for worrying about me. I hope I didn't scare you too badly." He felt a little awkward, but it seemed like that was the right kind of thing to say.

Cerise felt like she could finally breathe again as they were in the car and on their way to the new hotel, his attempt at thanking her not quite breaking her free of her thoughts, though. "Your hand was _purple._ " That was all she could manage to say. For whatever reason, her mind just kept looping back to that. Her lack of filter normally let worse things through, so she was happy that something relatively normal was said this time. Well...normal for her.

She seemed to be pretty disturbed by the color of his hand, which made him snort softly. "Yeah...I've had worse." All his comment did was make her scrunch up her face. There was no doubt in her mind that he'd had worse, but it wasn't something that she particularly wanted to think about unless she wanted to stay in a perpetual state of worry.

Based on her reaction…was that really a smart thing to say right now? God, he sure was good at this whole calming her down thing. "I'm fine, Cerise. Everything is fine." He brought her fingers to his lips pressing a gentle kiss against her knuckles. "Because I'm with you." That sounded so cheesy. Oh Lord, he was really cheesy. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing to be? He sure as Hell didn't know. The expression on her face softened at his words, being replaced by an impressive blush at the kiss to her hand. She was pretty sure that he was trying to kill her, because she never got this flustered before, not even by her own doing.

Once they were at the new hotel, she would be able to get a look at his hand again, and everything would be alright, or as alright as they could be with still being chased by another agent. The woman had that partner. Cerise shivered just thinking about the man and the way he’d handled her before Vanderwood had shown up to rescue her.

He furrowed his brow as he noticed her little shiver, running his thumb over her knuckles as he drove one-handed still. Vanderwood hadn’t been able to get himself to let go of her hand yet. The situation with Jessica had left him tense, but just her care and presence had been helping him calm down. Drawl was still out there after them, so their status as on-the-run was still in effect, but he would take care of that idiot too.

Just thinking about Drawl made Vanderwood’s eyebrow twitch. He and Cerise weren’t exactly _together_ , but he loved her, and he wasn’t about to let anyone hurt her. Anyone or anything threatening her would be met with a swift end. Whether they were anything to each other after this experience or not, he would make sure she was safe.

Check out my website. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	8. Pretty Birdy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood struggles with finding a healthy way to overcome his stress, and Cerise becomes his pretty birdy.

***What kind of drunk did you think Vandy would be? Feel free to let me know in the comments! ~Let's Connect! FFC***

Vanderwood pulled into the parking lot of the new hotel and grabbed the bags after helping her out of the car. His eyes looked over the parking lot, a little more paranoid than usual thanks to Jessica's surprise appearance. A familiar looking man was standing at the entrance, and they made brief eye contact. Vanderwood could almost remember the smell of that nasty pimp. The pimp jumped and immediately started to walk out of the parking lot. _Serves him right, nasty little prick._

Once they’d arrived, Cerise had made sure to stay close to him, probably closer than normal. If he was on guard, then she wanted to make sure she was right there, just in case there was a need to bolt. She thought she saw someone familiar, but the person was gone before she could really process who it was. It almost looked like...the gross smelling man at the diner. If that was the case, no wonder he ran away.

The memory made her smile, he had protected her so fiercely then and had even complimented her appearance. The heat started rising on her face. Great, that was probably going to be there for a while. Cerise kept her face down, letting her long hair fall over her shoulders to try and hide the fact that she literally was the color of what she was named after.

"We're getting one room to share for now." He said it more clearly than he'd thought he would be able to, with all of the current stress. Vanderwood was tired and on edge, but as long as nothing else happened, surely, he would be fine. And then he realized "Two beds. Of course." Great, now his face was on fire. She was following him closer than normal, which was great because he would have been pushing close to her anyway, but also bad because it didn’t help the blushing.

For some reason, she seemed to be trying to hide her face with her hair, maybe something to do with the blush he'd seen building on her face in the car. Damn she was cute. Vanderwood led her into the hotel and to the front desk. "One room, two beds." Right now, he was tired and just wanted to lay down, maybe even a little in need of a fix and just trying to ignore it.

After the incident at the other hotel, Cerise could see why he would opt for a single room. It honestly didn't bother her, she enjoyed having company instead of being doomed to be by herself with little outside contact for days on end. Cerise continued to keep her head down, nodding when it was necessary to do so. Only when she heard someone shout Vanderwood's name did she look up.

"Vanderwooood!" He turned his head to see a particularly bubbly looking Marie. The brunette was wearing a low-cut and tight as Hell dress showing off both of her assets. She bounced over to him and attempted to give him a kiss on the cheek, but he put his hand on her shoulder to keep her at arm's length. "Hey Marie." That was part of why she wasn't one of his favorites. Marie was always far too familiar with him.

The look of this woman alone made Cerise blush more if that was even possible. Who wore something like that just casually in public? She wanted to laugh when she heard the woman's name, but she was currently focused on how touchy she was trying to be with him. Her eyes flickered between him and the woman named Marie, the English namesake to his French name. They certainly seemed to know each other...Cerise didn't want to be rude so she opted to stay silent in case they needed to have a chat.

His eyebrow was twitching again, great. Why did he have to run into Marie and _in front of Cerise_? He wanted her away from him, but the bubbly chick just kept talking. "Ooo, you seem so stressed. The last time I saw you this tense, Crystal and I had to tag team on our kne-." _Holy fucking shit._ Vanderwood covered her mouth. "Don't."

He dropped his hand away and Marie tilted her head in confusion, for the first time taking in the fact that he seemed to be with someone else. Her eyes widened, and her mouth made a little ‘o’ as she leaned down. Had his tastes changed? That was terribly disappointing...Vanderwood was brusque and cool, but he was never rough with her even if he never really talked to her. "I didn't know you liked little girls now...How much are you making a night? Probably pretty good money." Marie stood up again, putting her hands on her hips with a huff. "I have to compete with all the other girls that are my shape. You're so lucky."

It didn't take long for Cerise to figure out who this woman was...especially after _that_. It was one thing hearing about his past, but it was a completely other thing actually seeing remnants of it. Well...at least what she hoped was remnants. Cerise was pulled from her thoughts when Marie leaned down to look at her, and she reflexively took a step back. "...Excuse me?" She had scrunched up her nose; she was far from a little girl, and she _definitely_ was not using her body to make money. Cerise opened her mouth to say something, give the woman a piece of her mind, when Vanderwood stepped in front of her, blocking Marie from her view.

Every single muscle in his body seemed like it was tightening down on him as he stepped between Marie and Cerise, not wanting her anywhere near this. Guilt was nagging at him too as something in the back of his mind was telling him _he needed to relax, needed his fix, Marie was right there_. Vanderwood clenched his injured hand, the painful burn helping him to relax at least a little, enough that he could speak instead of grabbing the escort for some relief. "She's not an escort; she's my girlfriend. Get out of my sight." Cerise could tell by Vanderwood’s body language that he was extremely irritated, and she might have reacted to the fact that he had just called her his girlfriend, had she not been so damn pissed herself.

Marie's eyes went even wider as she started to pout. "Girlfriend?" That couldn't be right. "No...No, no, she's barely even a woman! How can you like that over this." She gestured to Cerise before gesturing to her own body. Vanderwood was done. So very done. He reached out and yanked Marie to him, muttering into her ear. "You disgust me. Get the fuck away from me, and never talk to me again. Got that?" His body was reacting to her being against him, so he pushed her away, that guilt washing through him again.

This woman just continued to insult her. So what, she wasn't blessed with a full figure like a lot of women were, but she felt that she had a lot more to herself than just the curvature of her body. Cerise had had enough of this and turned her back, not witnessing the tail end of the situation.

Apparently, Marie had at least gotten the message as her face paled, tears rising in her eyes before she ran off. "Fuck you, Vanderwood!” Oh, God…Cerise had seen and heard all of that, and he felt like utter shit. Not just that, but his mind was practically screaming at him that he needed a fix and needed it _now_. He’d called her his girlfriend too. _Fuck._ He rubbed the bridge of his nose, grabbing the keys from the desk clerk, who was hurriedly attempting to pretend he hadn’t been staring. “Let’s get to the rooms quickly, please.” At least he'd managed to say please.

Cerise finally turned around to his suggestion, glad to see the Marie woman had left. "Yeah...let's." She let him lead the way to their hotel room. Right now, all she wanted to do was bury her face into some fluffy pillows and try to forget that had even happened. It was quiet and tense all the way to the room, but they both just wanted to be out of the public eye at this point.

Vanderwood held the door open for her once they got there, trying not to focus too much on how tight his muscles felt and how irritated he was. This really wasn't good. And they were sharing a room. Great. The room was huge and there was a decent TV, so maybe they could find something to distract him on there. Vanderwood sighed as he entered the room and sat on the edge of the closest bed, running his hand through his hair. Cerise took the other bed and pretty much face planted into it, a bonus that the pillows were super soft, calming her somewhat.

"I'm sorry." Vanderwood wasn't entirely sure what he was apologizing for. Everything, pretty much. That whole situation was all sorts of not okay, not to mention the thoughts he was having. How could he think he was any sort of worth Cerise? She was far too perfect for him.

Cerise had turned her head upon hearing his voice. He was sitting on the edge of his bed looking pretty rough. "It's really not something you could have helped..." She spoke as she sat up into a sitting position. The encounter for him was probably more irritating and stressful than it was for her. "I think maybe you should try to take a nap. A lot happened today."

Her voice was somehow a relief. "A nap, huh...Don't really sleep very well as it is, so I doubt I could nap." His eyes scanned the room, and he noted the mini bar. That was probably fully stocked, if he knew anything about these fancy hotels. "How about a drink instead?" Vanderwood had gotten up and opened the mini bar before pausing. "You're not a lightweight are you?" Lord, there would be so many ways that this distraction plan could backfire if she was. Particularly, if she was a specific kind of drunk. The touchy kind that wanted to be all over you would kill him. Not only were those rather annoying, but he didn’t know if his recovery could handle it. Although, he didn't really know what kind of drunk he was either, since he'd only ever been buzzed. He had a pretty good tolerance with his size.

She watched as he moved to the mini bar. "...says the man who forcibly removed me from a bar?" Cerise scoffed and scooted to sit at the edge of her bed, adjusting her skirt so it wouldn't ride up. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, thankful that she'd adjusted her skirt, because he did _not_ need an image in his head right now. " _That_ , was because you were trying to get into a drinking match with a bunch of strangers." Actually, why had he done that? He could have just stayed there and watched her instead; she would have been safe, but he had removed her from the situation completely.

"It's a bad idea, you know." Something Cerise was fairly confident in was her ability to out-drink most people. At one point, she would sneak out of her house to parties or sneak into bars where people would always attempt to get her drunk, it never failed. What did fail though, were their attempts. "...but not because I'm a lightweight. It's because I wouldn't want to put a guy like you to shame." A grin spread on her face, causing an almost evil glint in her eye. Vanderwood grabbed some random bottles, not really caring what he was taking, and two glasses, sitting on the floor with them. "Put me to shame? You realize I'm over twice your size, right?" He snorted at the idea of her out-drinking him, but Hell, it would be fun to find out. "Give it your best shot, shortcake."

"It's because you're twice my size that you'll be put to shame~" She moved from her spot on the bed to sit on the floor across from him, grabbing one of the bottles and pouring the contents into the glass until it was full. Cerise knew you weren't supposed to fill it up all the way, but she had a point to prove. Lifting the glass to her lips, she downed the whole thing in one go, making sure to lock eyes with him, grinning and speaking in her sing-song tone. "Your turn."

 _Well, shit._ She'd downed that glass like a pro. Why was that vaguely sexy? Vanderwood bit his tongue. That's exactly the opposite of how he should be thinking at the moment. "Alright." He poured into his own glass, filling it like she had done before downing it, following her example and locking eyes with her. "That's one each." Maybe this would actually work as a distraction pretty well. It already felt like he had relaxed substantially and that was a good thing.

***

Jesus, she was really throwing him for a loop. What number were they on now? Four? He was so confused. They were essentially taking huge shots of hard liquor, and she seemed far less inebriated than he was. Vanderwood felt that warm fuzzy feeling that told him he was definitely drinking way too much, way too fast, and way too long after dinner. He leaned his head back against the fluff of the bed and snorted rather loudly at himself. "I'm really gonna fucking lose to my sweet little pretty shortcake." His words came out slurred, and he'd added far too many adjectives. "You know how pretty you are?" Yup, he was definitely getting Hella fucking drunk.

Cerise felt a little bit of a warm burning sensation, but she wasn't drunk quite yet. Maybe buzzed if anything. She was pretty sure he was getting drunk though, and it made her giggle. With the way Vanderwood was talking, she was going to win this. Not that she was surprised. What she lacked in bodily assets, she made up for it in her godly alcohol tolerance. Not the fairest tradeoff, but it certainly never failed to amuse her. Cerise downed another glass and waved her hand over it like she had just completed a magic trick. "You think I'm pretty, huh~?" She poured more liquor into his glass herself and motioned towards it. "You're not such a bad catch yourself. "

He was pretty much wasted, and couldn’t even process her flirty attitude. "What I am..." Vanderwood took the glass and downed it, just a little slipping past the corner of his mouth and running down his chin before he could wipe at it. "Is fucking hot...Or so I'm told." That wipe had managed to cause his injured hand to start throbbing, and he looked at the bandage with a look of 'when the fuck did that happen?' He shrugged and turned his attention back to the angelic woman in front of him. "But you...are the prettiest woman I've ever met." Definitely Hella drunk. Vanderwood leaned forward to give her forehead a bit of a sloppy kiss. "You're also warm, and sexy, and perfect, and pretty...so very very pretty." Vanderwood wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. "Like a bird...pretty pretty bird."

She hadn't pegged him for a flirty drunk. "Hokaaaay, enough for you." Cerise moved the alcohol and the glasses aside before he could knock them over or break them. She was glad that he seemed to already be pretty drunk, because if she had taken one more glass, it probably would have been her undoing. In the end, she had won and that's all that mattered. His compliments were amusing and honestly made her heart soar, but she also knew she couldn't take much of what a drunk person said seriously.

She hadn’t expected him to pull her into his lap at all. Holy hell was he strong...not that she was the hardest person ever to move, but still. She laughed a little and patted his face. "That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." Cerise wasn't sure if she was redder from the effects of the alcohol or from blushing profusely. She was trying to talk to him simply and knew better than to try and flirt back at this point, aware that he had a bit of an issue with self-control, if the first time he had kissed her was anything to go by.

Vanderwood smiled wide as she patted his face and stroked her cheek. "And you're the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me...wait...well you're really sweet....and you smell like heaven." He nuzzled her hair gently. "You're an angel...a pretty little angel birdy...pretty birdy." She really did smell like heaven. Vanderwood yawned and stretched. "I'm tired...Why am I so tired?" The events of the day were catching up with him, even while drunk, perhaps even more so while drunk. He wasn't exactly the spry young guy he'd once been, a good bit worse for wear with age and the amount of damage his body had taken over the years. Vanderwood tried to poke her nose and ended up poking just over her upper lip instead. "Pretty birdy, I need to go to bed."

Well...at least he wasn't an aggressive drunk. That was a plus. He was just clingy and awkwardly flirty. Cerise thought about pulling her phone out and recording what was happening to tease him with later, but she had left it on her bed, and he had pulled her into his lap before she could really think to grab it. Oh well. It was of no surprise that he was tired--she thought he would be. It seemed he just needed to wind down and relax. Cerise was actually pretty tired herself. Her days were never this...exciting? And it wore her out. She took the opportunity to nuzzle into him, a blush apparent on her cheeks. He probably wouldn't remember it anyways. "If you let the birdy go, you can go to bed and sleep."

He’d mumbled something along the lines of "Wanna hold birdy forever." Vanderwood pulled her closer against his chest as she nuzzled into him before finally letting her go slowly as he yawned and stretched once more. He moved away from her, pulling himself up into bed before awkwardly removing his jacket and shirt, nearly getting stuck in the shirt before burrowing himself in under the covers. He reached out to her from the bed. "Come to beeedd...I want my birdy."

It was like he was a child when he was drunk. A very large child. He’d let her go and she’d kind of tumbled away. Okay so...a little more buzzed than she thought she was. Maybe even a little drunk herself. Certainly not as bad off as Vanderwood was, though. She shakily stood up and made her way to her own bed. The room was spinning a little, so she didn't trust herself to make it to the bathroom to change into her pajamas without falling flat on her face.

The sight of him struggling with his own shirt was somehow hilarious to her and she began to laugh until he suggested that she go over there to bed with him. He was shirtless, really drunk....and wanted her to sleep in his bed with him. Oh god...she could feel her face completely burn up. Even her ears felt hot. "Ahahahaha...ummm...birdy has to sleep in her own bed. Umm...room is too spinny for birdy to move." There, that should convince him, she figured. She got under her own blankets and buried herself in her fluffy pillows again, feeling like she could pass out at any moment.

Vanderwood pushed himself up with a pout on his face. "But I want to cuddle the birdy..." In his drunk mind, if she wouldn't come to him, he would go to her. He tumbled out of the bed, landing painfully on his injured hand, but thankfully inebriated enough that it didn't really phase him. Her bed was just as cozy as his, and he snuck in under the covers, pulling her into his arms. "Here I am, pretty birdy." He nuzzled her hair gently. Her warmth against his chest felt so right, and he promptly passed out, sleeping harder than he had in years.

Yep. There he was indeed. Honestly, she should have expected that he would do that, as drunk as he was. She would have complained, but having him hold her felt so nice. Cerise just had to ignore the fact that he was very shirtless and very close. Instead of feeling uncomfortable, she felt very relaxed as he was gently nuzzling her hair. He was already asleep, so there was nothing she could do, but if she was being honest...she didn't want to move anyway. Cerise just smiled to herself before snuggling into him more and falling asleep.

Check out my website [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	9. The Beginning or the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything seems so comfortable, the beginning of their relationship blooming, until their enemy turns up and spoils everything. Will their story end here?

***Here we go...I had some lovelies asking me for some VanderWOOD, but I can guarantee it is on the horizon. Unfortunately...today there is more angst. T_T But I can promise it is well on the way, and it will be amazing and beautiful and you will be so very well-pleased, or so I think. ~Let's Connect! FFC***

God damn, his head felt like it was splitting in two. Vanderwood groaned softly, opening his eyes slowly, almost immediately scanning his surroundings. New place...Right, new hotel room. He could feel something warm against his chest, which was unusual and...Wait...someone was in his arms. _Oh God, oh God._ Vanderwood looked down to see he was holding Cerise.

He was shirtless...holding Cerise...they'd slept in the same bed... _Where is my memory when I fucking need it?_ The last thing he could remember was them downing drinks. _Shit fuck._ He couldn't have, could he? Cerise was sleeping so peacefully...and she was in her clothes from last night. That was a good sign; he was wearing his pants from last night too. _Oh, thank whatever God exists._ Vanderwood breathed a sigh of relief before his face lit up with blush. She was all cuddled up to him, and now his heart was reacting, doing its new hobby of gymnastics. He gently pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. How was she so beautiful? There was certainly no denying that he loved her.

Cerise felt herself wake up briefly. There was a massive headache wreaking havoc on her head, causing her to groan slightly, and she wanted exactly no part of that. Besides...she was far too comfortable and warm to want to get up just yet. She mumbled something that sounded like, 'Vander...jerk...told you...'shamed...' before she snuggled into the source of the warmth more and drifted back off to sleep.

Vanderwood raised his eyebrow at her mumbling, but when she snuggled right back into him, it just made him blush harder. She felt so...perfect in his arms like that, like this was where she belonged. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. His own head was hurting like Hell, so he figured he should untangle himself from her and the sheets, get some water and take a shower maybe. It wasn't like he could fall back asleep now. Vanderwood held her just a little longer, reluctant to let her go, before he scooted his arms out from around her and tried to scoot out of bed carefully to avoid waking her again.

The shower had been a pretty good idea after he got some water into himself. He dried off before realizing he'd forgotten something to change into, popping out of the shower to grab his shorts as quickly and stealthily as possible before hopping back in to change into them. He didn't trust her to stay sleeping, and her seeing him butt naked didn't seem like a great idea for multiple reasons. Vanderwood finally grabbed a glass of water for her, placing it on the side table before he sat on the edge of the bed and stroked her hair, having barely hesitated before initiating the contact. "Cerise, I got some water for you. Drink it for me, and you can go back to sleep."

Golden colored eyes slowly opened, getting adjusted to the light in the room. Someone was stroking her hair and it felt soothing and nice...a rather peaceful way to wake up. Her eyes flickered to the source of the gentle touch. "...Vanderwood?" She asked sleepily as she started to sit up, yawning afterwards. Cerise took the glass of water and had a few sips, her throat felt like it was dry and scratchy, so the water helped with that immensely. "Don't think I want to...go back to sleep…" She stretched her arms and then looked around first where she put her bag. "I think I'm...gotta shower." Cerise gave him a kiss on the cheek before slowly gathering her things and disappearing into the bathroom. Hopefully the warm water would help her headache subside.

He chuckled a little at how cute she was. She had the same idea that he'd had. Showers were always great after a late night, particularly a drunk late night. "I'll be here then." Vanderwood laid back in her bed, staring at the ceiling and running through the events of yesterday. His bandage had had to come off in the shower, so now he looked at his palm. The dark purple coloring had gone down in size, only a small pinpoint of purple now surrounded by some light bruising. At least it wouldn't be a new scar, not that he was particularly worried about scars. Only the scar through his back tattoo annoyed the Hell out of him.

Vanderwood's eyebrow twitched and he grimaced at the memory of the sound of Jessica's neck snapping. He would never get used to that sound, no matter how many times he had to do it. His mind continued to wander, thinking of how Cerise had fussed over him, putting that warm feeling in his chest again. Then he remembered Marie, and he leaned his head back, looking up at the ceiling. He'd called Cerise his girlfriend...Was that what she was? Vanderwood knew he loved her, wanted her near him at all times, wanted to protect her...But even though she would kiss him, wanted to spend time with him, did that mean she really wanted to be with him? It was safer for her not to be unless he left the agency...but for her he would.

Cerise was excited to see that the bathtub was actually a lot bigger in person than it was in the pictures she’d seen online. Of course, she could have taken a quick shower, there had been a stand-alone one, but the tub had _water jets_. How amazing was that? She filled up the monstrous tub with hot water and much to her delight, there was bubble bath liquid. This was going to be amazing! After shedding her clothes, she hopped in, causing suds to go everywhere, and they were still foaming up. Cerise grabbed the bottle and read the small print. "...whoops." She was only supposed to use a cap full and she damn well near used the entire bottle, and now there were bubbles all over the place. Oh well, it didn't stop her from enjoying her warm, sudsy bath. The tub itself paired well with the massive amounts of bubbles seeming to swallow her up, and no matter what she did, she couldn't get the bubbles out of her hair. The jets just made more bubbles, and the entire bathroom essentially looked like some weird bubbly winter wonderland.

She washed her hair and cleaned herself, but it was nearly impossible to get rid of the bubbles, so she hopped into the shower to rinse herself off rather successfully. Cerise was able to find her towel through some stroke of pure magic and dry herself off. Luckily for her, she had put her clothes underneath the towel, saving them from a bubbly death. At this point, she'd have to let her hair air dry the rest of the way. There was no way she trusted a hair dryer in there at the moment. Very careful not to slip, she finished getting dressed and made her way through the bubbles, opening the door to the bathroom and heading back into the hotel room. Opening the door just caused some of the bubbles to spill out onto the carpet. Cerise looked behind her at the mess she created and then towards where Vanderwood was laying. "I...might have made a mess." she laughed nervously.

Cerise sure seemed to be taking a long time in the bathroom. He could hear the tub filling, though, so she was probably just taking a soak instead of a shower, and that was fine Finally, he heard her coming out of the bathroom and raised an eyebrow at her statement. "What?" And then he saw the bubbles spilling out onto the carpet and just stare for a moment, his skin starting to crawl somewhat because _that was a big fucking mess_. Still there was something…somewhat endearing about her making a mess with bubble bath as a grown woman. He actually snorted, trying to ignore the skin-crawling feeling his OCD always gave him when he was confronted with a mess. "That's why you were taking so long? You're adorable." Vanderwood patted the bed, propping himself up a little onto the pillows. Even with wet hair, she was absolutely breathtaking. "Come join me?" He felt a little heat rise into his cheeks, but he wanted to be close to her, they needed to talk a bit anyway.

"Yeah..." she laughed and closed the door to the bathroom to contain all the bubbles before turning on her heel and walking over towards him, trying to ignore her own blush rising on her face. "What, did you finally give up on calling me 'pretty pretty birdy?'" She sat down on the edge of the bed, just a little ways away from him. Cerise had grabbed another towel to attempt to dry her hair more, otherwise it was going to take forever to actually air dry on its own. She grabbed her phone to take a quick selfie, making sure to put on a pitiful look and complain about not being able to use the hair dryer before posting it.

"Wait...what?" Holy Hell, what had he done while he was drunk? His face was definitely on fire with blush now. "Did I really call you that?...Well..." Vanderwood rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "It's not wrong I guess...Except the whole...birdy thing." Damn, that was embarrassing. She seemed somewhat preoccupied with her phone at least. He watched her taking the selfie, giving him a little time to come down from his embarrassment and untie his tongue. Vanderwood had never personally understood taking selfies. Seven did it from time to time, but Vanderwood hated pictures. It just wasn’t useful for staying hidden and covert.  

Cerise’s eyes wandered towards Vanderwood as she finished her posting. He was still very shirtless, which did nothing to help her blush. "So...how's your hand?" she didn't really wait for an answer before she was grabbing for it and examining it. "Well...at least it's not so purple now." He did mention that he'd had a lot worse, and she couldn't help but glance at his body again, taking in the various scars he seemed to have all over his body. "You really weren't kidding, were you?" Cerise gestured to the marks on his skin. "That you've been through worse."

When she reached for his hand and examined it, the embarrassment and blush was back. "It's fine..." Her worry and fussing over him had that fluttering and stuttering feeling in his heart again. Her hands left a little tingling heat when she let go. Vanderwood looked down at himself, having followed the trail of her eyes. "Yeah...Just a few experiences too many." Vanderwood shrugged sheepishly before biting his tongue. "Do you...want to hear about them?" That was a weird thing to say. It wasn’t something he usually talked about, just a part of his job. Why would she want to hear about that anyway? Wow, he really was useless with this whole flirting thing.

Cerise laughed and scooted close to him now, trying to ignore just how shirtless and attractive he was. "This pretty birdy would love to hear about them." She teased him with a wink. It was cute that someone like him could blush so easily. Then again...she wasn't really one to talk. Lately, she thought that she'd never see the normal color of her face ever again. Usually, she only really had to worry about flustering herself instead of other people flustering her. He was the first person that she encountered that made her feel that way. A particularly large scar caught her eye and she all but climbed into his lap without thinking much about it and to run her fingers over the area. "What's the story with this one?"

The wink had him coughing in an attempt to cover up the way his breath hitched in his throat. Since she wanted to know about his scars, he was about to start telling her about any random one when she climbed into his lap. For what seemed like ages he couldn't breathe, feeling her fingers leaving little trails of warmth on his chest over the bullet scar that was so prominent there. "It's....uh..." _Get it together, dumbass._ He took a deep breath, placing his hands on her thighs as she sat there in his lap. His self-control was getting better, it seemed, which was very good, because he never wanted to hurt her. "Seven and I were escaping after he stole some computer hard drives. One of our enemies, Jessica actually, caught up to us and tried to shoot the redhead, so...I kinda took the bullet for him, I guess." He wasn’t one to brag and now he snorted softly, his cynical humor present as always. "Fucked up my back tattoo, too. I still need to get that spot fixed."

Cerise had just listened to him quietly as he told his story. She couldn't even imagine what it felt like to be shot by a bullet...It felt to her that even shooting one was a little scary. A wound like that must really have hurt a lot, especially with how big the scar was. Cerise could barely handle a papercut without making a huge deal out of it. "It must have hurt really bad..." She mumbled absentmindedly before leaning to place a gentle kiss over where the scar was. With a smile she pulled back and inquired about the more prominent one on his forearm. "...and this one?" As awful of a topic as his scars were, she felt like they were an important part of him, like she was privileged to get to hear about them at all.

"A knife is worse in my opinion." He’d given her a small smile, but then she’d leaned over and pressed a kiss over his scar. His hands tightened on her thighs almost imperceptibly as he bit his tongue. Holy Hell, his heart was a mess. It almost felt like it had stopped completely. She was so tender. For a moment, he didn't really register that she had moved on, too busy relishing the feeling left over from her lips on his chest. He coughed and looked at his arm. "Oh yeah...Somehow I got myself in some shit and ended up tied to a chair. Mostly she teased me a good bit, gave me a shit ton of poison blisters before deciding that wasn't working and decided to cut me instead. First one direction and then the other before the extraction team showed up to save my ass." It was strangely intimate sharing stories like that with her, and he couldn’t help but wish for her to gently touch and kiss this one too.

Cerise raised an eyebrow at him. "...How do you just _somehow_ get yourself into a situation where you end up tied to a chair?" Vanderwood just shrugged. "My job's a little weird." She winced a little when she thought about someone slicing him up. Really, she had no idea how he could stand that sort of pain, or the type of job he had, for that matter. Her eyes flickered down to the one she knew about on his lower abdomen. It was still healing. Cerise felt a pang of guilt...she hadn't even asked him if he was okay after that. "...That one is because of me." It was definitely going to leave another scar on his body, all because she decided to be stupid. "I'm so sorry." She felt that maybe she was about to cry, she had felt so bad about what happened.

He saw the flicker of her eyes down to his newest, still forming scar. What did he see in her eyes...shame? Guilt. "No, shortcake..." Vanderwood reached up to push a lock of hair behind her ear. "That was my fault. I should never have involved you in my life. I told myself there weren't any other options to escape the situation I was in, but I probably could have found another way. If I'd just...taken a little extra time to think...Maybe we wouldn't be here right now." Saying that...it actually hurt.

What if he hadn't gone into that truck? These feelings she gave him, the beauty he'd never known in his life before...But he wouldn't have even known he could have had this. "Cerise, you couldn't have known. You shouldn't blame yourself...If anything, I should have paid better attention to what you were doing with your phone, but I was too busy trying to keep my jaw off the floor. Everything about you has thrown me from the moment I met you." His hand settled over the wound, covering it from her sight, giving him an idea that he hoped would help her.

"I'll get it covered up for you...Make it into something positive instead of negative." Vanderwood pushed himself up a little, so that he could be face to face with her, gently leaning his forehead against hers as fire filled his face again. He was having trouble coming up with the words, and maybe this was absolutely insane? There was no way he was good at relationship things, if that's what they had. "Instead of an ugly scar, I can get a tattoo to commemorate the best moment of my life...meeting you." Lord that was cheesy. He was cheesy.

Cerise stayed quiet as she listened to him speak, his words at first hurting. She was somehow glad she was involved in his life, as stressful and crazy as things were. Her eyes followed as he covered the mark. Was meeting her really the best moment in his life? She almost wanted to laugh at how irritated she normally made him, but here he was telling her this. Her hand covered his own as he held it from her sight. "I want to be here. Right now, with you. I don't regret getting involved in your life, and none of your scars are ugly, you know." Cerise sighed a little and brought her other hand up to run it through his hair. It was actually amazingly soft, and she had wanted to touch it for a while now. "I think...I might be in love with you, secret agent man." A giggle came from her at her own joke, despite how hard she was blushing. She just really couldn't resist.

It was a little hard to get his mind to process what was happening right now. Cerise wanted to be with him...Her words had his mind and heart racing in equal parts. He closed his eyes at the feeling of her hand through his hair. If it had been anyone else touching him, he would have tensed up, but now he welcomed her touch with ease, opening his eyes again, locking brown to gold. The next thing she said flipped his world upside down.

She was so perfect, that giggle, that blush. Cerise even had him snorting softly at her joke as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm in love with you Cerise. I love you...pretty birdy." God, he felt so stupidly cheesy, and yet, he was riding the biggest high of his life. He didn't even feel guilty about it. This was the kind of high that was healthy. Vanderwood nudged her nose gently with his, before just brushing his lips against hers. "Stay with me...girlfriend...?" The words came out almost fading into silence, as he for once in his life felt unsure about his standing in life. Whenever he felt unsure, he usually threw himself into controlling his environment, but he was slowly learning you couldn’t just do that every time.

"There's that name again." She was giggling. He wasn't even drunk this time either. It was amazing how he could be super serious and have this imposing aura about him or he could be a cheesy, blushing mess. The way he was attempting to ask her out she found was actually pretty adorable for him. "You'll never be able to get rid of me, boyfriend." It was strange, the word boyfriend. She'd never had one before, even at 20. Most people found it surprising considering how cute she was. The people she was normally around were highly superficial, and it wasn't something she had ever been attracted to.

Vanderwood though...she made his life so much harder and gave him so much grief, but he still put up with her, even fell in love with her for who she was. She could honestly say that she felt the same way about him. Cerise decided it was as good a time as ever to actually initiate a kiss between them. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. She obviously didn't have as much experience with it as he did, but she couldn't let any insecurity get in the way of what her feelings told her she wanted to do.

Hearing her call him boyfriend only made the high that much better. This felt so good...He was happy. It was so weird. She loved him. His head was in the clouds, and then she was wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. Vanderwood melted into her, kissing her back with fervor. Cerise was inexperienced, but he could barely tell with the way she was taking what she wanted. One of his hands managed to make its way into her hair, sliding through the still wet silken strands as he held her to him by the small of her back. He wanted more, sliding his tongue along her lower lip like he'd only done once before. Vanderwood didn't want to go too far, but this was nothing like needing a fix, he felt better than he ever had.

Usually, by now he would have pulled away from her, like he always had. She appreciated that he was considerate in taking his time with her, considering she had no previous relationships romantic or otherwise and their…encounter on the stairs. At the same time, she didn't really want him to pull away, and she didn't want to herself either for the moment; everything was perfect. They didn't have to worry about much right now besides the possibility of an impending bubble apocalypse.

Cerise tangled a hand into his hair and tried to put as much intensity as he was showing her into their kiss, but she was a little unsure of herself when it came to that sort of thing. Watching it on a show was one thing but actually experiencing it was a whole other ballpark. At least one thing she knew was to breathe through her nose because otherwise she'd probably turn blue. Before him she hadn't really thought there was much to kissing someone besides just pressing your lips together with someone else's for a minute or two, but she was pleasantly surprised to find out that that was not the case, especially when he slid his tongue along her lips now for the second time. Holy crap did that send her already spastic heart into more of a frenzy.

Vanderwood thought his heart was going to explode; the way she was kissing him was pure ecstasy. He tugged at her lower lip with his teeth now before he moved, placing her down onto the bed so he was over her, and then he paused. Was he in control of himself? Yes...When he looked at her, looking into those golden eyes, he actually wasn't even thinking about sex. All he could think of was how much he loved her. Still, it was better to let her decide where was too far.

The bite to her lower lip had been a surprise that almost sent a shock through her, but it was even more of a surprise came to her when he placed her down. She looked up to him, trying to search his eyes for how he might be feeling, and she wasn't getting the same vibe from him that she’d gotten that night on the stairs. Cerise smiled warmly at him as he talked and brought her hand up to caress his face. "I trust you." Now, she knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt or scare her. He'd done such a good job at keeping her safe that she doubted he'd let himself do anything to jeopardize her trust.

He gently rubbed his thumb over her lower lip as he talked. "Stop me if I go too far." It was probably pretty intimidating initially, having him over her like that, and he wanted her to know he wouldn't let his control slip, nothing anywhere near what he had done on the stairs. "If you...want to continue, that is." His face would probably be perpetually red with her for eternity. She caught his hand with her free one and placed a small kiss on the thumb that had been going over her lower lip. Blushing, she nodded. "I want to..." Obviously they were both cursed to stay red in the face around each other.

The trust she'd placed in him was doing wonders on his already frantic heart. Vanderwood felt like he'd never feel normal again, but the way she made him feel, he never wanted to go back to the way his life had been before. Her little kiss on his thumb had him smiling like an idiot. The smile he had shown her seemed to be contagious and she found herself smiling with equal idiocy. For once she actually thanked her small stature because otherwise she wouldn't have had a reason for him to help her with the huge boxes that night they met. Cerise really couldn't imagine what she'd be doing now if they hadn't crossed paths or what life would be like now without him in it. She knew that she never wanted him to leave.

He kissed her again, stroking her cheek gently. Kissing her had quickly become his favorite thing to do. Vanderwood wasn't about to let himself hurt her. He teased at her lower lip with his tongue again, wanting to pick up where he’d left off, but he wasn't entirely sure she knew what he was getting at, because she wasn’t responding the way he was used to women doing. It was probably a matter of the experience gap between them. "Open your mouth for me..." That was a bit of a weird thing to say aloud, but he didn't want to attempt to just tease her mouth open. The way he kissed her would make it feel like her heart was skipping beats, and even though she was a little confused by his request, she complied and opened her mouth a little. She trusted that he knew a lot better than she did, so she wasn't about to question it.

Vanderwood kissed her open mouthed now, taking a moment before he let his tongue explore and press her mouth open just a little further, teasing his tongue against hers as he held her hip with one hand. His other hand was in her hair again, her hair still wet and somewhat cold, but he was far too swept up in her to mind. Who knew life could be so perfect? It amazed him quite frankly.

At first Cerise’s brain had paused as he’d gone in to kiss her again with her mouth open and…Oh. Okay, so that was why. Cerise caught on quickly and teased back with her own tongue, letting herself explore him like he had her once he’d let up enough to allow her to. It was a strange experience for her, but not uncomfortable or unenjoyable. In fact, she ended up liking it a lot. She really liked him a lot. Cerise wasn't sure where her hands should be, especially considering he was still very much so without a shirt, so she let her hands rest on the back of his neck and absentmindedly played with his hair.

He broke the kiss and gently nuzzled her nose. If he didn't stop he had the feeling he would want more though...not the frenzied need for a fix that he was used to, at least...and really, that felt so good. Vanderwood loved the way she played with his hair, he'd never let other women mess with it, but maybe that had been a mistake with how great it felt. No, it wasn't a mistake. It was way better that it was just her. "I love you."

Cerise smiled and nuzzled him back, feeling completely happy. She didn't think that anything could bring her down right now. Never had she been in love before, just hapless crushes, and this was such an intense feeling that she felt like her heart wanted to explode every time he looked at her and with every word he said. "I love you too." She replied to him in a sing-song tone as she giggled. It felt nice to love someone and have them love you back.

(Deleted Scene of Vanderwood and Cerise getting to know each other. So much fluff, ya’ll. Learn about it on my website, linked at the end of the chapter.)

After the insanity that had happened just yesterday, and the beginning of their real relationship, the two decided to simply relax and take some time to watch the television, although when a random rapping donkey appeared, they’d turned it off. Vanderwood, thanks to whatever cheesy virus had infected him, ended up professing his love again and again, prompting more conversation into their lives before meeting one another. At least they were able to learn each other’s nationalities, which when you were dating that seemed a _little_ important. Though, once they’d finished talking, it became clear that they were in need of food as Cerise’s stomach told its own story, so Vanderwood had headed off to bring something from the restaurant downstairs, not yet trusting the room service staff.

Cerise decided that it was about time for a full update to her followers. Keeping her social media up to date with selfies wasn’t quite enough for her feed to seem as normal as possible and keep up the cover for her own safety, so she’d give her followers a tour of the hotel room! She’d get to show them even more of her new phone using the mirrors in the room too. It took her just a moment to check herself in the mirror and acknowledge that, yep, she looked super cute~ before she turned on the video feed on her phone.

"SweetiCherry here! It's been a crazy few days so I haven't been able to post as much...sooo sorry! I'll explain what's been happening!" Her customary sing-song voice was a big hit with her fans, so she made sure to use it. Cerise quickly explained that she got cute new phone accessories (which she showed off in the mirror almost immediately, yay for planning ahead) and that she had even successfully shot a gun. She also mentioned that she might have kinda sorta 'started dating vanderhottie' but obviously left out other important details. It wasn’t too safe to give him more of an online presence than he already had. After a tour of the hotel room, she ended the video with the mess she had made in the bathroom. To make things worse, bubbles came spewing out as soon as she opened the door causing her to scream briefly in surprise. How were there so much more? After ending the video, Cerise tried her best to close the door and stomp out the bubbles, but there were just too many.

Vanderwood unlocked the door, pushing it open to reveal...Cerise trying to stomp out more bubbles in their room. He snorted and then laughed as he set the food down. "Holy Hell, they just aren't going away are they?" It became apparent to him that there was no way they could stay in the room if they weren't able to use the bathroom, that, and despite his amusement, his skin was starting to crawl again as the need to clean crept up. "Let me call the front desk real quick..." It wasn't long before the maids decided they had to be moved to a completely different room. Apparently, the more they tried to wipe the bubbles up, the more bubbles there were. Didn't make much of a difference for Cerise and him though.

He almost liked the new room better; they had a higher vantage point, and the view of the lobby below from the stairs was pretty nice. Vanderwood laid back in the bed and stretched, yawning. Jeeze...he should really be working on some more intel reports, but he just didn't feel like it. So, this was what it was like to be lazy. No wonder Seven liked it so much.

***

Drawl licked his lips as he walked up the stairs towards the room. It had been easy to have the agency hackers tap into the hotel's registry after he'd figured out just where that video was from last night. Thinking about that video made his pants feel too tight. That scream...he'd replayed it a few times, and lord don’t help him, he couldn't wait to make her scream louder, especially now that he knew for sure she was Vanderwood's girl. He looked up to scan the area upon reaching the door, making a quick sweep, but not really taking in much detail as the thrill of the kill was pumping adrenaline through him.

They were inside, of course they were, so he had nothing to worry about. Revenge would be sweet; of course, he'd have to be fast getting into the hotel room, but he'd already had a key card made, and he could knock Vanderwood out if he only had the element of surprise. Then it would just be a matter of tying everyone up and having some fun. Drawl paused, listening briefly at the door before he put the key card in and rushed it.

***

Cerise really liked the new room, it was even bigger than their previous one, and even the bath tub was bigger! She was almost thankful for the incident with the bubbles, as much as she was scolded by the maids the previous day. After convincing Vanderwood to give her some change so she could go get a snack to munch on, Cerise had slipped out of the room. The vending machine was close by, so it wasn't much of a trip and he hadn’t been worried about her heading out without him when it was only a minute’s walk away. As she was heading back, Cerise took a look down towards the lobby, and then decided to take just a few extra seconds to lean a little over the railing and look down. The staircase was huge and amazingly pretty from up here where it led down to the lobby area and the fountain below. She could see the other floors which were connected by the smaller staircases at the side too.

Wait…Was someone going into their old hotel room...? It was just a little below her, near the staircase on that side. The maids had deemed it impossible to clean and were waiting on professionals, and this guy didn't look like a professional at all. She walked along the railing to get closer and get a better look when the man looked up towards her direction for just a second, and her blood ran cold. It was the man from the day she met Vanderwood...The guy was there in the hotel with them. He thought they were in that room still. She had backed up to the wall as soon as she figured out who the man was. Hopefully, he hadn't seen her...Cerise's pulse was quick and her heart was racing. She needed to tell Vanderwood _now_. As quickly as she could, she opened the door again with her key card and ran inside. "That guy...Drawl. He's here." Cerise had made her way over to him, looking rather scared. "He's...he went to the other hotel room. Where we were before..."

Vanderwood was just starting to doze off, able to take a nap for maybe the first time in his life, and then Cerise was barrelling into the room like a bat out of Hell. She was talking so fast and the terror in her eyes was enough to tell him that she believed what she was saying. He took her face in his hands, stroking her cheeks gently as he processed everything. It was possible that she had only seen someone who _looked_ like Drawl, but that guy had a pretty unique animal appearance, so it was likely that she was correct too. "Okay...shortcake, breathe. I'll take care of it."

He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, maybe a little longer since...well, this was definitely not going to be fun. After giving her another much quicker kiss, he grabbed his jacket and gloves, slipping them on before placing his gun at the small of his back. "I'll be right back, Cerise." He said it like it was fact, and he was going to make it a fact. Drawl was a counter-hit, as well as a threat to his girlfriend, so he would take care of it; he had to. Vanderwood had work to do, and as in the zone as he was, he'd managed to forget the taser. It laid on the nightstand, clear as day, but he didn't even think about it, in too much of a hurry to make the Drawl problem go away.

It was a short trip down the stairs, and once he made it to the room, he briefly enjoyed the sound of Drawl's cursing at the damn bubbles. He made a quick peek to see that the bubbles had enveloped half of the room, but unfortunately also meeting Drawl's eye, who went to rush the door. Shit. Vanderwood ducked into the room with him, grabbing the smaller man's arm as it had been up to swing, and then Drawl was punching him in the gut, right on the spot that was still healing. He still held on tight, not wanting to let the guy get his 'stabbing hand' back. Drawl’s mind had been occupied with pure frustration as he tried to seek them out from the bubbles, but as soon as he’d seen Vanderwood there watching him, he’d had only one instinct, and that was to attack. He wasn’t the best with plans or strategies, but he was fortunate enough to be able to remember the wound he’d made on the much bigger man, and that had given him some small edge, but now they were stuck there in a stalemate for the moment.

***

Cerise had stayed behind. It was the logical thing to do, since he knew what he was doing. Now, she was just curled up in among their pillows, thinking over what he’d said to her just a few moments ago, before sitting up and contemplating whether she should try to collect the pillows into one large pile. She might have been comforted by his words in that moment and snuggled up with all the pillows, had she not realized that his taser was not with him. It was sitting right there on the night-stand.

That was his most trusted weapon. It was impossible for her not to have noticed the way that he carried that particular weapon around like it was a prized possession, just like his jacket. He needed it, in fact, how could he even have forgotten it, and what would happen to him without it? As scared as she was of that nasty, greasy, orangutan man, she wanted Marion to come back to her alive more.

Hastily, Cerise grabbed the taser from the nightstand and ran as fast as she could, almost tripping on the stairs. She caught herself before she could fall and made it the rest of the way towards the room, just in time to see them already in a skirmish. How was she even going to give the taser to him? It wasn't like she could have just waltzed in the room and handed it to him. Cerise really hadn't thought that far. Drawl was punching him, and she knew it was exactly where he had cut him last time, causing her to empathetically squeak and wince.

Her soft squeak had Vanderwood looking up, finding her in the doorway. His stomach dropped to his feet. What the Hell was she doing here? Brown eyes almost immediately found his taser clutched in her hands and it didn’t take much to understand what had happened. Was he an idiot, or what? His grip slipped, and Drawl managed to shove him over, causing him to fall painfully as Drawl smirked, making what would have looked to anyone like the hope of a simple monkey and pulled Cerise into the room.

Drawl's smile was as big as it could ever be as he shoved Cerise against the wall by the door, knocking the taser from her hand. Vanderwood couldn't really process fully what was happening. This is why they told you not to fall in love...Exactly this reason. Their time together had made him go lax in his preparedness somehow, but now there was something far more lethal than he was even used to sweeping through his system.

He pushed himself up off the floor slowly. His gun was useless right now, and really he wanted to rip into Drawl with his bare hands. How could he get Drawl away from her? Drawl smirked as he held his acid coated knife to Cerise's chest, looking back towards Vanderwood for reaction. Cerise had been frozen to the spot when she saw Drawl shove Marion over, and now she wasn’t even sure how she’d gotten into this situation with her pinned to the wall and the knife to her chest. It felt like the wind had gotten knocked out of her lungs. She didn't think she had ever been more terrified in her life, even counting when Drawl first had a knife to her.

Vanderwood almost couldn’t stand to hold still. Cerise was trapped, and clearly terrified. The fiery inferno of rage inside of him wasn’t helping Vanderwood to think, but he _needed_ to think, or he wouldn’t be able to get them out of this. Drawl was more turned on than he had been in a long time. Oh, this was going to be so much _so_ much fun. "You think I should give your little girlfriend a wound...a scar like the one you're going to have?"

This one...she would probably scream...louder than she had in that video. It was almost making his mouth water. Drawl slid his hand up her shirt slowly, watching Vanderwood's face more than Cerise's, and that's when it dawned on Vanderwood. He'd have to pretend not to care...about the most important part of his life. Vanderwood shoved down all the anger and fear that was choking him, the raging need to beat Drawl to a bloody pulp and the all-consuming terror that was going to lost the woman he loved, it was all locked down hard. He needed to save Cerise, and this was how he was going to have to do it, and if she didn't love him afterwards...Hell, he deserved it. The fucking taser. His eyebrow twitched once, and then he was an emotionless mask. "Do whatever. She's really nothing to me. You know me well enough to know I don't actually care about women."

Cerise had closed her eyes. This ape man was talking about cutting her...Marion wouldn't let that happen, right? Drawl began to slide his hands up her shirt, and she squirmed away from his touch despite the knife being held to her. She did not want this man touching her. Then… _her boyfriend_ was talking, and it was like her mind had frozen too.  'Do whatever. She's really nothing to me.' Did she hear right? Did...he just say that? Drawl might as well have plunged the knife into her right then, because Marion’s words were cutting her deeper than she thought Drawl's blade ever could. Tears started to form in her eyes. She had done a good job so far at not crying and making things worse, but she couldn't help it. Cerise's words were stuck in her throat, she couldn't even manage to speak. When she had opened her mouth all that came from it was a sob.

That sob had only made it better for Drawl. "Oh, really?" Drawl wasn't pleased with this turn of events, Vanderwood’s little confession that was, but maybe...He moved the girl's shirt up wards, nice and slow, dragging his fingers along as he did so. "She's got such lovely skin...shame it doesn't have any decoration." And that's when he pressed the knife into her abdomen, right where he'd done the same to Vanderwood. Cerise let out an ear-piercing scream as he pressed the knife into her abdomen. She already had such a low tolerance for pain and the pain of the knife cutting into her was undoubtedly the worst she'd ever experienced in her life. Now the pain she was feeling physically almost matched how she was feeling emotionally. All she could think about was how much she was hurting, and it was like all she could see was white.

Vanderwood was internally screaming, but he kept his face straight. For Cerise. Save Cerise. It was agony, but he managed, and the disappointment on Drawl's face. "Hm...Fine, then." The man turned to look straight at Cerise, wanting to at least enjoy the pained look on her face, and that's when Vanderwood moved, ripping the asshole away from his girlfriend and throwing him hard to the floor. Once Drawl let go of her, she dropped. Everything was becoming way too much for her, and she held her hands to the wound he had given her. It didn't seem to be bleeding much, but it hurt so much.

His hands almost had a life of their own as Vanderwood just went nuts on the guy, hearing him sputter, choking on his own blood before finally...finally...He was able to remember what the Hell he was doing, where the Hell he was, and that Cerise was injured. Vanderwood grit his teeth and snapped the guy's neck quickly now. For once, he didn't notice the sound; he had bigger things to deal with.

"Cerise!" Vanderwood went to her immediately. The wound probably stung like all Hell...He remembered it from when Drawl had done the same to him. "Cerise, shortcake...I'm so sorry." It seemed she was completely out of it by the time he had gotten to her, slipping out of consciousness from the shock of it all as well as the pain she was in. There was something wet running down his cheeks as his vision blurred, and he realized that he was crying. He was actually crying.

Vanderwood pulled her into his arms, carrying her bridal style. His go bag with the first aid kit was in the room, and he needed to clean up her wound quickly, running up the stairs to get there and laying her on the bed, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead before he grabbed the kit. He couldn't stop repeating the words 'I'm sorry.' It was his fault. This had happened because of his own stupidity, and he wanted to beat himself up like he had Drawl. Vanderwood felt sick, every part of him felt sick. Their relationship hand only just begun, and he couldn’t let it end like this. Cerise wasn’t fatally injured, the wound was fully cauterized thanks to the acid, but what he’d had to say, what he’d had to let happen, maybe their beginning really was their end.

Check out my website. [~Let's Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	10. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cerise has been injured and is in dire straights. Not to mention the damage done to their relationship by Vanderwood's harsh words used to trick Drawl. Recovery is sorely needed, as well as a look toward the future.

***I had to take my bestie to the doctor’s yesterday, my parents were here last week, and then our server got a little cray cray, so today’s chapter is just a tad late, BUT things should be settling back to normal here soon~ I promise the naughty bits are coming, but you’re gonna have to put up with a bit more angst and fluff first. ;3 ~Let’s Connect! FFC***

Her scream was playing in his mind, and he knew that he needed to call Seven to send someone to take care of Drawl, but Cerise was more important right now. He didn't care about anything else except making sure she was okay. Vanderwood carefully cleaned the acid away, the cauterization of the wound meaning he wouldn't have to stitch her up. Did her skin feel too hot? It was probably his gloves. Vanderwood pulled them off with a wince. His right hand was fucked up, probably a boxer's fracture, but whatever. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered, _except her_. He stroked her forehead gently after he'd bandaged her wound.

"Cerise...pretty birdy...won't you wake up for me, please..." Fear and tears and pain were choking him so hard that he couldn't do much else. "Please..." Who was he really begging? Her or God? Whatever God it was that existed...taking Cerise from him...no...This was definitely his own fault. But Cerise...It didn't need to go out over Cerise.

She thought she heard someone calling out her name. It was hard to make it out with the pain she was feeling. Cerise slowly opened her eyes, her hands automatically moving to her wound, noticing it was dressed now. Her eyes eventually found him. He was stroking her forehead and...was he crying? Marion looked pretty rough himself. The feelings from what he had said started to rush back to her, and she wanted to cry again. "...You. Why...would you say..." Cerise winced a little as a wave of pain hit her. It hadn't seemed like a particularly deep cut. "...why would you say those...things?"

She was awake. The relief of that washed over him, but it seemed like she was still in a lot of pain. How could he answer that question? "I didn't mean them...You're my one and only, Cerise...but I had to. Drawl is...was insane. He wanted to watch me in pain for you. But I needed him not to be watching me. This..." His hands trailed to the dressing he'd placed on her. "It's all my fault...I should have remembered the taser, then you wouldn't have come. I shouldn't have gotten distracted...and there should have been another way." His voice broke several times. He didn't even know himself anymore. For well over a decade, he had trusted in his skills and abilities, the anal-retentive perfectionism that kept him and those around him safe, sticking to his duty and following orders without question because that was his purpose. This time he had failed, and he’d failed the one person who meant the most to him. "I love you, Cerise…” Vanderwood didn't deserve her. He never had. And why...why was he only realizing that now?

There was no doubt that the man had been insane...that was true.  Marion’s reasoning made sense to her, but it didn't make his words hurt her any less. Of course, she still loved him...that feeling couldn't go away so suddenly. She was confused, and the pain wasn't making it any better...plus the room was incredibly hot. It was hard to focus on anything that he was saying. She began to mumble something in French before she closed her eyes again, feeling incredibly tired. Her eyelids felt like lead, and she didn't feel like fighting it.

Vanderwood furrowed his brows at her as he ceased stroking her forehead and instead felt it with the back of his hand. "Fuck." She was burning up. Either she was having some sort of reaction to the acid, or it had done just a bit too much damage, and her body was trying to flush it out somehow. Not good. Vanderwood needed to find some way of bringing down the fever...Well...they had a tub in the other room and it was big enough. When fevers were this bad, body temperature needed to be brought down immediately.

Fuck. He pulled off his jacket, shoes and socks, everything else could stay on. She needed to get cooled down and quickly. The bandage would have to be redone afterwards, and he’d need to be careful to make sure that she didn’t start shivering because that would raise her internal temperature. There was a lot to think through and be aware of, but that was his specialty, if only he could keep from failing her now. Emotions and attachment shouldn’t make you lose your skills.

Vanderwood ran the bath, going back to pick up Cerise and take her with him into the tub. He cradled her carefully in the water, but he couldn't leave her in it alone, so he held her there, praying the fever would break quickly. The water was the right temperature to even out her own, and Vanderwood hummed softly to her, not really sure what else to do. What he was humming, he had no idea, but he just hummed. It seemed like a good thing in the moment. Just as long as she wasn’t overheating anymore. As her outside temperature went down, he was able to un-stopper the tub with his foot. Vanderwood pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. Testing her temperature that way wasn’t reliable, but she _did_ feel much more pleasant to the touch rather than burning.

After a few minutes she opened her eyes again, trying to focus on her surroundings. Someone was humming, and it was really comforting. Was there water...? She remembered she was hot before, but now she felt light, buoyant. The pain was still there, but it seemed that the water was numbing it some. Glancing up she realized that Marion was holding her, and they were in the tub. Had it been because the room was so hot? Nothing made much sense to her, so she didn't try to think too hard about it. "You're a jerkwad," were the words that decided to come out of her mouth, strained and low.

He gave her a pained smile. Could he really blame her? He was a jerkwad...or whatever else she wanted to call him. "I know, shortcake...I know." Now that she was awake with her fever seemingly under control, he could get them out of this tub. He was careful getting out of the tub with her in his arms, but it was a relatively easy feat for him with as small as she was. "I'm the biggest jerkwad there is."

Vanderwood grabbed the fluffiest towels on his way out of the bathroom, throwing some over the bed before carefully laying her down and drying her as much as he could. His face was lighting up with color because he'd realized, he needed to get her shirt and skirt off. “I promise I’m not going to do anything inappropriate, but I need to get your clothes off of you.” Vanderwood was careful, he'd done this for Seven all the time when the dumbass got himself injured, but he was like his kid brother. She was different, and he was far more delicate, making sure to wrap the towels around her again quickly so as not to be a creep, save for the bandage on her abdomen which he redressed, peeking at the wound. It looked swollen and angry, worse than his had. He hissed softly at the sight. Cerise was in so much pain, emotionally and physically, and it was all his fault.

Cerise was in too much pain to really care what he was doing, not really aware of any of it or listening. As much as what he said had hurt her, she understood why he had said it and trusted him to do what was needed to help her feel better. He had said before that he was going to take care of her, and she was going to hold him to it. She would jump and wince every time he was around the wound, the dumb thing hurt so badly, but other than that she was in her own head. Is this what it had felt like for him? He had even helped her escape after Drawl had cut him...and here she was making a big deal out of it.

Though, she did suppose that his body had built up some sort of tolerance for this type of thing, all the scars and marks on his body. She had never been in any situations even close to that before now. It was taking some time, but now she was starting to come a little more into her own as she felt him tuck her in with some more towels and blankets. "Thanks for this..." She looked up at him now, able to keep her eyes open better this time. "Y'know...you're...a big jerkwad but..." Cerise managed to reach out her hand to touch his arm, grinning weakly. "you're... _my_ big jerkwad."

When he heard her voice again, he immediately searched her eyes with his. She was starting to be able to hold her eyes open better, it seemed, and that was a very good sign. He laid his hand over hers on his arm, snorting softly at her comment. Why did he feel like crying again? This time it was probably relief. He brought her hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles gently, catching a glimpse of the bruising on his own. "What an honor."

Vanderwood grabbed some bandages for himself, now that she seemed out of the worst of it. He wrapped up his hand tightly as he grit his teeth. Yup, definitely a boxer's fracture. Now he only had a few other loose ends and his focus could be back on her where it belonged. Vanderwood sent Seven a text with his other hand, fumbling a little since his left hand wasn't his dominant hand, but the other wasn't in the mood for texting. Then he got up to grab some clothes to change, feeling that stiffness again from stress, that he tried to ignore.

Cerise had watched him moving around, taking in what information she could despite how tired she felt. Marion seemed to be injured somewhat too, and was doing something with his phone before slipping away. For just a split second, her mind tried to convince her that he was abandoning her or wore, but he wouldn’t have gone to all of the trouble to dress her wound and tuck her in if that was the case.

He’d returned now, moving to lay next to her and pulling her into his arms, careful to avoid the wound, although it still caused her to bite her lip. "Je t'aime, Cerise...Your big jerkwad loves you." Despite the pain any type of movement brought her, she much preferred being in his arms. "Je t'aime aussi...Marion." Vanderwood’s heart clenched, although not as much with pain. He loved the way she said his name...loved that she even said his name. It was almost hard to believe that _was_ his name anymore, considering that everyone called him Vanderwood, but hearing her say it felt right. _She_ felt right…so good in his arms. His body was tense, but relaxing. There was just his clothes and a layer of towels and blankets between them, but for once in his life his mind was clean of dirty thoughts.

Cerise tried to push the words he had said to the back of her mind as he was holding her in silence. If he didn't care, he wouldn't have gone this far for her. He had had every opportunity to take advantage of her had he chosen to, but he didn't. Marion was careful and gentle with her, respected her. He had to care, his words _now_ were the true ones. Another wave of pain hit her, causing her to whimper. Maybe she would try to go to sleep...at least that way she didn't have to deal with it again until she woke up. She snuggled into him to the best of her ability and closed her eyes. Cerise wasn't sleepy, she was just physically tired. It shouldn't be too hard for her to ease herself into the world of dreams. Marion had nuzzled into her hair gently, clearly catching on to what she was doing. "Sleep tight, shortcake."

***

Cerise didn't know how long she had been asleep for. She instinctively went to grab for her phone, but quickly realized that she hadn't been sleeping alone, nor was she in any position to grab for her phone. It was across the room. Her mind didn't feel cloudy anymore, but her abdomen still hurt pretty badly. Cerise spotted her phone charging on the desk in the room, blinking indicating that she had things she needed to be attending to. It had been a while since she updated her status, and now that she was awake, she needed some distraction from what had happened the day before.

She tried to somehow wiggle out of his arms, but it was proving difficult. Every move she made hurt like Hell. After some careful struggling as Marion grumbled a little before his eyes flew open. She’d managed to gracefully tumble off the side of the bed, letting out a yelp as she hit the floor. The wound was starting to hurt like it did before, so she curled up a little, trying not to cry. Cerise wasn't even going to attempt to get up now. All she had wanted was her stupid phone, not have a fateful encounter with the floor while she had a gash in her belly.

Vanderwood had been waking up slowly thanks to her wiggling in his arms, surprised that he had actually managed to fall asleep. His hand throbbed a little as he worked through what had happened before the fall and subsequent yelp of his girlfriend. He was out of bed quickly, bending to help her, his hand on her back as the other found her own hand. "You alright, shortcake?" And then he realized he was touching her bare back, his face turning red as he looked her over and realized that, yup the towels were off her.

Cerise felt her cut throbbing, even when she wasn’t moving it hurt. There was no winning with that stupid cut. Marion had coughed and looked away, causing her to furrow her brows before he was slipping his arm around her and under her arms to lift her up onto the bed again. That was when she realized that her towels were off of her, and she was sitting in her bra and panties while he was staring at the ceiling. "I'm going to grab you some clothes...What were you trying to get to?" Jesus, Vanderwood felt red in the face as he quickly handed her a towel to cover up again for the time being.

It was a good thing for Cerise that Marion probably couldn't tell she was flushed, considering the small fever she was sure she still had. "...My phone." She answered with her head down, pulling the covers to her to hide the exposed parts of herself that the towel he’d handed her didn't cover. She would have just slid under the covers, but the amount of moving required to do that would not be fun with the bastard cut on her stomach. Cerise couldn't even be properly embarrassed because of it!

Vanderwood wasn’t really surprised by her answer. Of course, it was her phone. He grabbed it before looking for something for her to wear, so she could use it while he searched, although Cerise just ended up catching a glance at his wrapped hand. Marion must have hurt himself during that encounter with Drawl. She remembered noticing it before when she was out of it too. For once Cerise wasn't worried about her phone, she put it down beside her without checking it, waiting for him to return.

He’d decided that her clothes would probably rub against the cut too much, and it didn't need to be further irritated. Vanderwood grabbed a shirt of his, it would be really fucking big...and the idea of her wearing something of his was kinda... _Just get her the clothes, you idiot._ "This should do it for now." He snorted at himself before handing her the shirt.

Cerise had been ready to grab his hand to check on him, but he had just as quickly offered her his shirt. She nodded and slipped it over her head, pulling the rest of her hair through the neck opening. To say it was huge on her was an understatement...it practically swallowed her up. Vanderwood noted that she’d placed her phone next to her and wasn’t checking it. Her phone always seemed to have a ton of notifications, but he didn't check them; it wasn't his business. It was blinking pretty erratically, though, so he pointed at it. "Looks like I'm not the only one who wants your attention." That sounded a bit cheesy...Why was he always cheesy?

She took this opportunity now that he was holding out his hand to grab his wrist and actually look at the bandages. “You hurt yourself…Are you okay?” His first instinct was naturally to tense and prepare to attack, but she was just…checking on him. Vanderwood’s face lit up with color and he rubbed the back of his neck with his other hand. "It's nothing...just a boxer’s fracture. I kinda...broke my hand on Drawl's face." God, having someone actually give a shit about your injuries was a little embarrassing, not that Seven ignored him, but he certainly didn't react with the level of care that Cerise did.

"Don't worry about it...It's fine, see." He clenched and unclenched his fist, but it had the opposite effect than he'd hoped for as he winced at the pain. Okay, so it hurt to move it around too much. "Really...it just hurts a tiny bit.” Cerise raised an eyebrow at his wincing in pain. "Look at you, trying to act all tough..." She nuzzled his hand gently and kissed it. Cerise was most certainly going to worry about it; she cared about him, and he had hurt himself...but she was happy that he had punched Drawl to that degree. The creeper deserved it. She shuddered at the memory of that man's touch, it was all sorts of gross, and she was glad he was gone. There was no telling how many people he had taken advantage of or murdered. Drawl was where he deserved to be.

Vanderwood bit at his tongue, his heart fluttering at her gentle ministrations. "I am tough...for the most part." He was quickly realizing that he really wasn't tough at all, at least when it came to her. Vanderwood bent to kiss her forehead gently. "I need to check your bandages..." Last time he'd looked, it had looked pretty bad. "Okay." Cerise laid back and straightened herself out the best she could, so he could check her bandages, wincing as she moved. This was not fun, and she had no idea how he handled getting injured all the time. She watched him from where she was as he spoke to her.

"The quicker I can get you healed up, the quicker you can go back to normal life...although..." Vanderwood had been thinking about it already, but if he was going to keep her safe, he was going to need to leave the agency. He was too close to her now, and undoubtedly someone would know that he had kept her with him this entire time, figuring that she would know too much. "You're going to need to stay with me for a little bit while I tie up some loose ends. Gotta get myself out of this job."

Cerise had no qualms about staying with him, but she wanted him to be a part of her 'normal life' too. If he was just talking about this thing with Drawl, that meant their time together was coming to an end. He was her boyfriend now, though, said that he loved her, and she believed him. That had to mean he was going to quit the agency altogether, right?  "Job?" She asked him curiously, "The creepy stabby man thing or...the secret agent thing?"

He chuckled a little at her question, of course she’d want the full story from him. "Creepy stabby man is dead...I'm going to find a way to leave the agency, then you can be safer being around me." He carefully moved his shirt up her body to get to the bandage, blushing furiously the entire time. If he focused too much on how much of her body he could see right now, he'd just explode.

Cerise had gotten out her phone to mess with while he was working on her wound as a distraction, but now began to realize the situation they were in as he moved his shirt up her body. He could totally see her underwear. She didn't have a lot of time to be embarrassed, though because of the pain she was still in. She could stew about it later, but right now she just wanted to make sure that the wound she was given was healing correctly. Marion seemed to have had enough of them to know what he was doing. His face was completely red despite how focused he looked, and she couldn't help but to think his blushing was adorable. Since he was focused on treating her, she silently snapped a picture and tagged it #blushyvandy putting the phone back down at her side as his ministrations were starting to make it difficult to focus even on that.

Vanderwood nimbly removed the old bandage. The wound was looking angry, but most of the swelling was down. She was still clearly hurting the way she reacted as he’d touched the skin of the surrounding area, so hopefully some numbing cream would help. "This might hurt a bit, but I promise it'll feel a little better afterwards." His focus was too much on her and not thinking about her _in her underwear_ for him to have noticed the picture she’d taken.

He found the cream in his bag before gently rubbing it over the wound, trying not to apply too much pressure. Cerise had instinctively tried to shy away from the touch to her wound and winced when he rubbed the cream over it, but Marion was doing his best. Then he rebandaged it and pulled the shirt back down, relieved to not have the view of her panties anymore. "Better?" Cerise scrunched her eyes closed and focused on breathing while she waited for the burning to stop until it ended up hurting less than it had before the cream.

Marion seemed to be waiting for her response, and now she was relaxing, really feeling how much cooler and less irritated her wound was. "It...actually is. Thank you~" She grinned and pulled out her phone, showing him the picture she took. "You're really cute when you blush like that." Vanderwood loved that sing-song tone of hers that she was using, even if he wasn’t a big fan of what she’d apparently been doing while he was taking care of her. "You're taking pictures of me again." He said it before sitting down and actually taking a look at it, and he had to admit he kind of liked the way she wanted his picture and her comment just made that worse. "I'm not cute..." He was muttering, not wanting to make this any worse for himself than it already was.

Cerise felt a comment bubbling up and started to mentally scream at herself to keep her filter under lock and key. _No. Nononono. Don't you dare._ "You weren't thinking anything improper, were you~?" _Cerise YES._ She had obviously lost this internal conflict. Again. Vanderwood choked on his own air. “I...I wasn't...trying to...I...just..." Brain glitch, words weren't working. _Damn it..._ Once he was reacting, her own fluster at her weird brand of flirting faded some, and she could enjoy the way he was losing himself. No matter how much he said he wasn’t, she thought that he most definitely _was_ cute, especially right now.

Vanderwood just laid down next to her, ending up with his face buried in her hair. "Nothing...I wasn't thinking anything...except for how beautiful you are..." His face was only getting redder as he couldn't control his tongue "...and sexy..." He just kept hiding herself in among her hair, feeling a bit like a child, but at this point it was too late to go back anyway. "I swear I won't touch you…unless you want me to." Oh good, something sensible could come out of his mouth. Well, partially sensible.

When he’d buried his face into her hair, her hand moved automatically to stroke his hair as she laughed a little...until his next comment. It was her turn to completely flush red this time. She'd gotten beautiful before...but hardly ever sexy. Blushing furiously, she grabbed for her phone at her side while he continued to hide and talk and carefully took a selfie with one hand. She examined it quickly to see the picture of herself as a blushing mess as he was still snuggled and hiding in her hair before poking at him with her phone. "Here...if this makes you feel any better..."

The poke had him coming out of hiding from her hair, and he took the phone to look at the picture. She looked so incredibly perfect...both of them blushing like maniacs as he snuggled up. Vanderwood was quiet for a moment; he hated pictures, but not this one. "Send me that." He realized it had come out as a command and coughed softly before trying again. "Please send me that...It's perfect, I love it." Vanderwood snuggled right back into her. "And I love you." She was going to take some time to recover before he could take her home, quit the agency, start a new life, but he had a feeling that there were good things on the horizon.  

It wasn’t going to be easy, in fact, maybe they would always be in a bit of trouble. Vanderwood tended to be pessimistic, angry, cold…but she’d warmed him to his core. He wasn’t sex obsessed and grabbing any opportunity to fuck anymore, and that was all thanks to falling in love with her. Cerise probably deserved better than him, really…but he wasn’t about to give her up.

Check out my website. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	11. Past Catches Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone from Vanderwood's past just won't leave him alone, and it brings up other questions about what might have happened with his former lifestyle.

***So, Vanderwood has a lot of stuff in his past and Cerise is about to get a little taste of that. There is some foreshadowing in this chapter of a conflict that will come up again much later in their relationship. You can try to guess it. =0 I might give you a little something something if you guess right. ~Let's Connect! FFC***

Marie (Hidden Scene: Marie Backstory, learn about it on my website, linked at the bottom of the chapter) made her way up to the room number she'd managed to get from the hotel clerk using her feminine wiles. Her friend's baby fussed in her arms, and she just bounced him a little. He was a stinky little brat, but this was just a means to an end. This was going to get that little girl off his side for sure, so that she could have him back. Vanderwood wasn't going to get away from her so easily, and if she convinced him that she'd had his baby, well then maybe he would wake up and smell the roses that he was in love with her. Of course, he only saw her once a month usually because of Crystal’s week off, but she knew those weekly visits were important. She knocked softly on the door and waited for him to open it, looking up expectantly with the baby in her arms.

Vanderwood took his time getting dressed after his shower, looking at his now healed scar on his abdomen. Cerise's still had some time to go before it was completely healed up, but they'd be matching. The idea put a bit of a sour taste in his mouth as he remembered. Leaving the agency couldn't come soon enough, and this time he'd do his best to keep her away from everything. He heard knocking and started to get dressed more quickly. It probably wasn't anything, but it would always be safer to be right behind Cerise just in case, particularly after what they’d just been through. 

Cerise had been messing around on her social media when she heard a knock at the door. She looked towards the bathroom door curiously to see if Marion would come out, but since the threat had been taken care of, surely, she could open the door. Now that she was able to move without horrible pain, she practically hopped from the bed to open the door, to see that woman from the other night. Marie was her name, she thought? Cerise frowned a little remembering their last encounter in the hotel lobby before the drinking match with Marion. Why was she even here? How did she find them? What was with the baby? "Can I help you?" She asked in a very fake cheerful voice.

The door opened, and Marie startled a little, realizing she was looking up at nothing, and having to lower her gaze to see _that little girl_. "Yes, you can." She hoisted the baby up a little. "Yoon wants to see his father." Vanderwood had managed to get out of the bathroom at this point and froze, feeling like the words were crashing in around him. "Excuse me, what?" Cerise heard Marion’s voice and turned her head to look at him with confusion written on her face. Did he really have a kid with Marie? “His father…?”

Marie went off on some tirade of not having told him because she hadn't seen him in so long, blah blah, blah; Vanderwood wasn't listening. He was running through literally every sexual encounter he'd had with Marie in the past two years, trying to find anywhere where something could have gone wrong. It simply wasn't possible; it simply couldn't be possible. Him as a parent was a Hell of a bad idea. Him as a parent _with Marie,_ even worse. The good news was…he hadn’t been away from Marie long enough for her to have been that pregnant and him not notice. "Are you even listening to me? You need to step up and be a father." She was huffing at him and he was just getting more and more irritated, rolling his shoulders back as he prepared to throw Marie out. "When was this supposed to have happened exactly? I’m pretty sure you were never pregnant.”

She watched the exchange between them with utmost confusion. Why would Marie have hidden something that important until just now anyway...? Frowning, Cerise chipped in. Marie must have been really dim, and she figured Marion was too busy focusing on Marie to actually pay any attention to the child. "Umm...I don't think it's his, crazy lady." She gestured towards the child. "This kid is kinda sorta...a totally different color." Cerise turned back towards Vanderwood and then gestured towards him, scoffing. "He kinda doesn’t look anything like him. You must be a special sort of moron to think he'd fall for a dumb trick like that."

It didn’t take long after Cerise pointed it out for Vanderwood to spot the difference too. "What in the actual Hell are you trying to do, woman?" Vanderwood was ridiculously enraged. Did Marie seek to own him somehow? Only one woman had tried that before and that had ended with a slap to the face and his assignment to watch over Seven. Unfortunately, physically, there was nothing he could do to Marie right now; she was holding a baby.

It was obvious to Marie now that neither of the two believed her, but surely, she could just say the kid had gotten a really good tan or something? She started babbling on that of course it was his. Vanderwood’s eyebrow twitched, and he approached, crowding her away from their doorway and out into the hall. "Stay away from us." He didn't fully understand what Marie was trying to do, but he figured it had something to do with Cerise and some sort of fucked up jealousy thing, and his suspicions were confirmed pretty quickly. Another woman, much more fitting the child's skin tone, walked up to them. "I need mah baby back, girl." Her accent was irritating, and she seemed as dense as Marie as she continued. "Did yah get that john to break up wit dat one short chick?" Marie only pouted as her friend pulled her away, Vanderwood now moving further out of the room to glare at them in the hallway.

Cerise was somewhat finding this hilarious, like one of her favorite telenovelas, but when this happened in real life, she had to admit it was more just horrifying that people could be so stupid. Vanderwood was all sorts of pissed, and when he was pissed, he needed relief, and that was just not happening right now. He did not need Marie fucking with his relationship, let alone the recovery he was trying to build up. A gloved hand found the bannister of the stairs as he glared at the two women. "Get out of my sight." The bannister couldn't hold up to the force he was applying as the mother whisked a further complaining Marie away. Vanderwood tried to focus on just breathing, slowly letting his muscles relax and untensing, leaving a dent in the bannister, before he looked towards his girlfriend apologetically. Once more, he wasn't sure what he was sorry for, except maybe for being a stress in her life.

"That was....interesting?" Vanderwood snorted. "Interesting...that's a word for it." Cerise shook her head and sighed. How dumb could people be? She especially felt bad for her boyfriend who was probably all sorts of stressed at the moment, but it did bring up some doubts. Of course, she tried to be understanding of his past. Cerise had always told her parents that she didn't want to be judged constantly by her past lapses in judgement, so she didn't want to do the same to anyone else...but was he as careful as he said he was? It was hard to imagine that he might already have children that even he didn't know about. Talk about relationship stress...Judging by how he treated the poor banister, the two women were lucky they had a baby with them, because he didn't look like he was going to play nice. Cerise pushed any negative thoughts to the back of her mind and made her way to his side to wrap her arms around his waist in an attempt to help calm him. "It's okay...everything is fine."

Just looking at her made him feel better. Cerise put up with a Hell of a lot from him, from that first kiss, to having her life endangered, to this. He’d tensed for just a moment, wondering whether he should trust himself before wrapping his arm around her as well. "Right...Cerise..." Obviously there was more discomfort he needed to deal with, the fact that a woman could come in and try to claim he was the father of her baby, that would raise questions for anyone, and he was far from stupid. Vanderwood took a deep breath before nudging her toward the hotel room. "Let's talk..."

He was willing to guarantee that he didn't have any surprise children and willing to guarantee that he was clean. With medical tests every year for the agency, there was no denying at least that, and he had been careful to search for anyone in his hometown who had had children for some time after his sex tirade, and although plenty had been born, not a single one looked like him or claimed an unknown father. It would have been an easy thing to tell anyone else, but with her, he just felt so guilty about his addiction and the life he'd lived. He sat on the bed, motioning for her to sit next to him. It wasn’t necessarily the best idea with how stressed he was, but this was a conversation that had been inevitable from the start if they were really supposed to be together.

Cerise could tell that he had something on his mind when he nudged her back to the room, and had given him a simple hum of assent instead of talking. She sat down beside him and studied his figure. He seemed rather tense, but he didn't look as angry as he had earlier, which was good. Likely, he wanted to talk to her about Marie or maybe there was something more to the story that she didn’t know yet. Cerise grabbed for his hand and squeezed it, letting him know that she was there for him, that she was ready to listen to whatever it was that he needed to say.

Her hand in his made him feel that much better, leaning back a little on his other hand as he tried to think how to bring up the subject properly. "So...that, whatever that was, I want you to know that's just not possible. I'm really careful, incredibly careful, and it's just not possible that I have any children out there." Would he need to be more specific? Well, buckle up, because he was getting more specific. "I've never had sex without a condom, ever. I've never had one broken, and I've always used my own, so no one could have poked holes. I'm also clean, no diseases. I get tested every year for the agency, and I'm good." It was all making him feel incredibly uncomfortable, but it was important that she knew, and would probably be less uncomfortable than wondering. The past had a way of catching up with you, and it was better to deal with it when you had the chance.

Vanderwood let out a sigh and squeezed her hand, before bringing her hand to his lips to press a soft kiss to her knuckles. "I promise you, there is no woman out there, absolutely none, that has a hold over me. There is no one out there who will take me from you, and I won't let anyone take you from me." He made sure he was looking into her eyes as he said it, letting her see that he was being sincere. His past didn’t make loving him easy, Hell, even without it, he wasn't an easy man to love, and yet she loved him. Nothing was more important to him now other than making her happy.

Honestly, Cerise had been feeling a knot develop in her stomach when he’d first started, but then it untied itself the more that he spoke. She was relieved that he had been super careful, relieved he was telling her even if she’d rather not think about the life he’d lived before. If they did have to cross that specific bridge, she would have done her best with it, but it was even better that there was no bridge to cross in the first place. Cerise would periodically squeeze his hand as he talked to her. She figured this was a talk that would have to have been had sooner or later, so now seemed like as good a time as any. The sincerity his eyes held as he looked into hers made her heart leap, and she could tell that this man really cared about her. Cerise simply couldn't help but to lean up and place a quick kiss to his lips, pulling back with a blush. "Thanks."

***

Marie was going to give him _one last chance_ to figure this out. He had been so angry, angrier than she'd ever seen him, and tense enough to put a dent in the bannister. If there was one thing she knew about Vanderwood, it was that when he was angry, he wanted to fuck. Judging from just how stressed he’d seemed, the tiny one wasn't giving him any. A smile grew on Marie's face. She would pick up the little girl's slack. It wasn’t that she was in love with Vanderwood exactly, just his money and his looks, but that was exactly why she needed him. Marie was happy to find that the door was open and even happier to find Vanderwood's back turned as he fiddled with his taser strap.

Normally, he wouldn’t have left the door open, but they were on their way out in just a moment, and he’d only stopped to tighten his taser straps. When he felt hands on him, someone pressing close to him as their hands slid up his thighs, he immediately stiffened, changing from attempting to tighten his taser holster to taking the taser out. Vanderwood angrily shoved the hands away from him and stepped to the side, fully ready to attack as the woman recovered from his rough shove, turning to see Marie, his taser already switched on as her brown eyes took in the crackling weapon and then looked at him as though she was amused. The woman really was an idiot.  

His eyebrow immediately began twitching, rage boiling up. It wasn't like him to have left himself open to something like that, the door open and his back turned to it, but that certainly wasn't an invitation for this woman to touch him. No enemy would ever get the last laugh when it came to him, whether whore or agency. Marie simply giggled; Vanderwood would never hurt her. He loved her, but just needed to realize it, and then she’d have her meal ticket.

Cerise had just finished fussing with her hair, taken a cute selfie to post even, when she opened the bathroom door and walked out just in time to see Vanderwood lowering his taser and slipping it back into its place as he glowered at Marie. Why was she even there? Did she not get the hint the first time? Cerise was getting so tired of this woman already. Frowning, she planted herself beside Vanderwood, putting a hand on his arm to help calm him down, since she could tell he was _not_ happy. "Marie." she said, keeping her eyes on the woman. "He's not interested anymore...You showed us before that you were dense, but wow." Cerise gave her a smug grin as her golden eyes flicked down to Marie’s ample bosom and back to her face. "I guess at least what you lack in brains you made up for in other areas. Good job."

If he hadn't been so angry, he would have demanded that Cerise stay away, but lord he wanted to snap Marie's neck, and that was his main focus. She was trying to come between him and the only happiness he’d had for years. Cerise's hand on his arm at least had him relaxing to the point where his eyebrow wasn't going _insane_ , but it was still twitching. His jaw was clenched and there was a grim expression on his face. Marie gave a smile, looking down at the tiny girl with an appreciative nod before the slow realization sunk in. The little girl had just called her dumb. Her expression turned sour, and she launched herself at the girl, going for a grab of her hair. Vanderwood reached over Cerise, grabbing Marie's wrist to keep her from laying a hand on Cerise, pure attack instinct and training serving him well.

Somehow, Cerise had expected an attack of some sort after she watched in real time as the moron of a woman realized she was being insulted. Her body moved automatically, and she ended up giving Marie a swift kick in the side, Vanderwood had grabbed Marie's wrist which kept her from completely going down...luckily for her. What Cerise lacked in upper body strength, she made up for in her legs thanks to a few years of being on a football team. When she kicked, she kicked hard.

Her kick had knocked the wind right out of Marie, who floundered to catch her breath as she hung from Vanderwood's outstretched hand. Honestly, Vanderwood was ridiculously impressed by Cerise’s kick, but he had bigger fish to fry at the moment. Vanderwood promptly squeezed Marie’s wrist, hearing a small popping sound before he dropped her to the ground. That wasn't the worst he could have done, in fact, he wanted to do much more. This _idiot_ had attempted to attack his girlfriend. Whether she could protect herself was of no consequence to him; Vanderwood wanted to murder her, flay her, throw her down the stairs and watch her tumble.

"Get the fuck out." He spat the words at Marie before turning his attention to Cerise, his hand slipping over where he knew the wound was on her abdomen. "Are you alright, shortcake?" Vanderwood kept an eye on Marie from his periphery as he pressed a kiss to his girlfriend's forehead. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" At least his need to care for Cerise was outweighing his anger and irritation for the time being. Some part of him was proud of that.

The adrenaline rush she’d had from Marie's attack had made Cerise completely forget about the pain of her wound, and she only realized that it was hurting when Vanderwood slipped his hand over it. By now it didn't bother her all too much; she could handle this pain at least. Cerise gave him a triumphant smile and opened her mouth to speak but was cut off as Marie reached for her ankle, as though in some last-ditch attempt to still come out of this triumphant. She just _had_ to show Vanderwood who was the superior woman. Marie knew that, she’d done that with Crystal by making sure she was far more bubbly and energetic, and now she could do it by winning this little game.

Too bad Vanderwood was too quick for her. He stepped down on her wrist. "You really want me to break the other one?" His voice was cold and dark, the normally bright brown eyes darkening dangerously. "Out." Vanderwood removed his foot, and Marie, finally realizing that today wasn’t the day to bother her man, knew she needed to leave. Clutching her other wrist, she made a mad crawl for their doorway. Cerise really wanted to feel sorry for Marie. Too bad Marie’s target had been Cerise’s very uninterested and very irritated boyfriend. She was small, but that didn't mean she didn't know how to defend herself when she needed to.

Her eyes followed the woman as she made her way out of their room, only turning around as Vanderwood began to talk again. "Damn, you're amazing..." Cerise sang out with a laugh. “I try.” He really just wanted to kiss her, so badly, but was taking just a moment, ascertaining that yes indeed he wasn't going to _smash_ his lips against hers. Vanderwood gently stroked her cheek with his other hand before he kissed her deeply. Cerise felt his lips on hers before she even really knew what was happening. It didn't feel like he had done it out of frustration, but out of love and the way he was stroking her cheek as he kissed her was comforting even; it was enough to take her breath away.

Vanderwood broke the kiss when he felt his thoughts starting to wander, moving to kiss her forehead instead. "Sorry...That was just..." _Don't._ "...sexy." _Congratulations, you suck._ His face was now on fire and he was flustered, great. Cerise was just staring at him, processing the situation as a dark blush stained her cheeks. There was that word again. _How does someone respond to that?_ "Not as sexy as you always are, Vanderhottie~" _Probably not that. Definitely not that._

"Jesus..." He hadn't meant to say it out loud, but Lord, she was flirting with him at a moment when he just didn't want to stop touching her. Vanderwood took a deep breath and rested his forehead against hers. "If you say so, shortcake." His self-control was certainly improving, and it felt good to want someone not as a simple form of stress relief. Perhaps the past had caught up to him with the appearance of Marie, but he was finding that maybe it didn’t have to be that way with his addiction if he kept this up.

Check out my website. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	12. Seven's Bunker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cerise has her first encounter with Seven, but the redheaded 'troll' is up to no good.

***What a day to post! Saeran route is officially available for Android users and my best friend is over at my place playing it, so we can experience the glory together. I'm hoping for a good route that I can do a continuation for in my Good Ending Continued Series. I just made it through Seven's route again and am drafting the beginning of his version which I hope to start posting by March. Hope to see ya'll reading that too~ Vandy will obvs make an appearance. Oh, btw, next week you get your first Cherrywood NSFW. ;3  ~Let's Connect! FFC***

After their most recent encounter with Marie, Vanderwood and Cerise had decided to take another day before heading away from the hotel, making a shopping trip to a store for Cerise to purchase some pillows that would make her more comfortable while staying at the bunker. (Deleted chapter, learn about it on my website linked at the end of the chapter.) It was for the better that she’d be there until Vanderwood could leave the agency. She needed to be kept safe; that was his highest priority. Cerise was simply playing around with her phone during the ride, only putting it away once Vanderwood pulled into Seven’s garage. He locked the security system using the in-car controls before turning to her. “Alright, shortcake…Let’s get you inside.”

Honestly, he was feeling just a little anxious. Vanderwood had always been on Seven’s case that relationships weren’t safe for them, that they didn’t deserve it. Not that he thought Seven would complain, more like he had a feeling the redhead would somehow take revenge on him. Seven would definitely be weird and annoying, that was inevitable, and he rolled his shoulders back, already dreading the idiot’s behavior.

Cerise was just ready to stretch her legs again, eager to get out of the car. Once Marion helped her out of the car, she grabbed her cherry pillow from the back and held it with both arms as they approached who she assumed was Seven. He looked nice enough, and he was already smiling. Of course, Marion had warned her that Seven was a troll, but maybe he was exaggerating. Sometimes it seemed like Marion saw the worst in everything.

Seven was standing in the doorway to the house with a huge grin on his face as Vanderwood approached, standing close to Cerise. Something about the grin on the redhead's face made the brunet feel on edge. "Ooo, I read in her file that she was short, but she is absolutely adorable, Mary." _And_ Seven was already pissing him off. Cerise shuffled, her nose scrunching up in displeasure. The first thing out of his mouth was commenting on her height?

Vanderwood was about to open his mouth to give the redheaded idiot a piece of his mind when Seven started to reach for Cerise's waist like he was going to pick her up. Cerise stepped back, tucking herself a little behind him as Vanderwood felt something ugly stirring in his chest. Not only was Seven about to put his hand over her still healing wound, but the redhead was also about to touch his girlfriend. Vanderwood snatched Seven's arm roughly. "Pick her up, and I will break your arm."

Seven’s eyes widened somewhat at the tight grip. Holy...Vanderwood was mad. The redhead had seen him mad plenty of times, maybe even gotten tased on one or two occasions, but this was different. He frowned and pulled his arm away from Vanderwood's grip, who let go, seemingly a little confused as well at why his reaction had been so violent so quickly. If it had been anyone else, Seven had a feeling his arm would already be broken. Well, no matter, just don’t touch the little lady, and he could still have fun. The redhead grinned just as wide as before at Cerise. “As you wish, Mary dearest. I'm Seven Oh Seven, good to meet you, Lady Vandy. I happen to enjoy your blog as of late. I might have a picture or two of my maid that you can add."

She was glad that Vanderwood had succeeded in keeping his partner from picking her up, still sensitive where her wound was and not really interested in being treated like a child. Cerise chuckled nervously as the man introduced himself. "...Lady Vandy?" Apparently, he knew about her blog...not like it was hard to find it. Cerise glanced over towards her boyfriend who seemed to be in a state of irritation. She slipped her hand into his, giving it a little squeeze. Obviously Vanderwood's anger didn't deter his partner, and somehow, that was unnerving to her. "Uhh...sure, but I don’t think I know your maid?"

Vanderwood was already bristling, clearly not wanting Seven to show off his pictures, but when the girl took his hand, he seemed to get somewhat distracted. It was actually kind of sweet seeing the big guy with his girlfriend. He'd always thought Vanderwood wouldn't be able to find anyone to grab his attention, for longer than a few hours anyway. Of course, it also stung. Seven found what he was looking for and with an exaggerated bow, held out his phone, showing Cerise the photo of Vanderwood and he dressed as maids. Seven was hanging off of Vanderwood's shoulder in the photo, who looked very unamused.

Cerise peeked at the phone with her eyes wide, although as soon as Marion saw that photo, he snatched the redhead's phone. "No. Absolutely not." She had still managed to get a good look though, and now her mind was racing. Was that...was he...? Crossdressing, really? Just what sort of relationship did those two even have? She was horribly, horribly confused. Was this another part of his past that she didn't know about? Cerise kept nervously glancing between Vanderwood and Seven even as Vanderwood handed the phone back to Seven, presumably after deleting the image. Was there more about him that she didn’t know?

Deleting the photo was probably pretty useless, since Seven likely had a million copies, but it at least felt somewhat therapeutic, even with his eyebrow twitching. Cerise’s hand slipped out of his, causing him to furrow his brows and watch her from the corner of his eyes. She seemed…shocked and lost in thought. Well, could he expect anything less when Seven had just shown her a picture like that? He’d have to deal with that later, once the redhead wasn’t around. Vanderwood slipped his hand behind Cerise's back after giving Seven a little shove, getting a laugh from the redhead even as Vanderwood guided Cerise past him, grumbling. "Lay off, will you?"

He led his girlfriend to the couch, but Seven still seemed to be hovering. That wasn’t completely unusual. Vanderwood sighed and rubbed his face. “I’ll be right back, shortcake.” Cerise made a noncommittal noise. She didn't even take out her phone when she sat on the couch as she tried to wrap her head around the situation and make sense of it.

Vanderwood broached the topic of leaving the agency, disbanding it even, but it seemed like Seven wasn’t entirely on board. It didn’t make sense to him. In all the time Vanderwood had known the redhead, Seven had always seemed like he hated what he had to do and the workload. Although, once the kid mentioned his twin brother, Vanderwood felt a tight pang in his chest. He hadn’t known. Well, he’d suspected there was someone that the redhead was protecting, but it made even more sense to him now. "Right, yeah, just give me a day to rest up then...I’ll help you find your brother and then we’ll get out of this." The redhead seemed far more on board with that. It would mean field work, potential danger, being away from Cerise, but that was what it was going to have to take.

Vanderwood rejoined Cerise on the couch as Seven shot him a peace sign and left the house, with a grin that once again had Vanderwood questioning if the redhead was up to something. Cerise was still out of it, only shifting slightly as Marion sat next to her. She hadn’t been able to hear what he and his partner had been talking about, but considering that she didn’t understand what was really going on between the two of them, she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to know.

"So, that's Seven. I took a bullet for that asshole." God, he felt awkward. Vanderwood rubbed at the back of his head. He hadn't addressed the photo yet, but with Cerise sitting here looking like she was going through the shock of her life, he was going to have to deal with it right now. "That photo...that was just us doing undercover work, and in no way do I do that normally, nor did I enjoy it in any capacity." He wasn’t sure if she just had an issue with crossdressing or if she was having weird visions of him walking around in women’s clothing, but he wanted to nip anything like that in the bud right away.

Cerise had been about to ask him about the photo, but he had beaten her to it. His explanation made her sigh in relief. Okay, so that was one less thing she had to worry about...It wouldn't have made her love him any less, she would have just had...a bit of concern. Knowing now that he wasn’t a crossdresser or secretly wanted to be a woman or something…It made the photo a lot more hilarious. He had looked really irritated in it too, like he wanted to kill somebody. "I think..." She started to laugh a little now, the hilarity of the moment really hitting her, "...That you might...pfft...look better in a skirt than I do."

He had been waiting for her reaction, watching her, but when she finally did react, he wasn’t sure how to process that either. Was she laughing at him? And then what she'd said actually started to make sense in his brain. "C'mon, Cerise. I’m too masculine for that bullshit…” His voice kind of trailed off a little before he coughed and the rest of what he was thinking made its appearance. "Besides...no one could ever be better looking than you." It was really true, no one had ever affected him in the way that she did. Her cuteness had been the first thing to strike him when he'd met her, but that had quickly transformed into the knowledge that he found her strikingly beautiful. Vanderwood rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. He needed a change of subject. Now that he wasn’t on a mission anymore and cigarettes were back on the table he also felt like he was getting a craving. "Do you uh...want to watch a movie or something?"

Cerise was still giggling, loving the way he was reacting. Maybe she would have to ask Seven if he had any backups of the photo later. She hoped he did, because she now found that she _needed_ it. Grinning at the compliment, she gave Marion a kiss on the cheek before settling back down on the couch. "A movie sounds great. Let's watch something you like." Cerise was a little excited to see the type of thing he would watch on his own. So far, they'd only watched things together that she enjoyed.

"Um..." Something he liked to watch? Mostly all he'd ever watched was action movies and laughing at the crazy shit they did in the secret agent ones. Sometimes he'd complain about them totally flubbing something up...but if she wanted to watch something he wanted to watch..."I guess that'll be a secret agent movie then." The nerd in him had considered grabbing Niron Man, but he didn’t quite want to reveal just how much of a dweeb he was right now. He smiled sheepishly, getting up from the couch to grab a movie he'd watched several times and starting it up. Cerise just giggled at his selection as he worked on getting things ready. Did he like to watch secret agent movies ironically or something? 

Vanderwood stretched and looked at the couch as the opening previews started to play. After being cramped up in the car all day, he really needed to stretch out. Maybe Cerise wouldn't mind. His face filled with a little bit of color. "Shortcake, you think I could lay across the couch and you could uh...lay on my chest maybe?" Why was he being so awkward to ask such a simple little question? She tilted her head a bit at his request before smiling widely. "I'd love to do that." Cerise wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to snuggle up to him, no matter the reason, and laying on his chest while watching a movie sounded cozy and actually sorta romantic. She shifted out of the way to let him lay down, grabbing her cherry pillow from the cushion where she’d placed it and hugging it tight.

He stretched out onto the couch, making a soft groan of relief at getting to lay down and relax. Vanderwood was really getting into this lazy day stuff. He furrowed his brows, eyes scanning the room. It didn’t look like a pigsty…Had the redhead cleaned up on his account or for Cerise? Or was the redhead really planning something?

Once Cerise had settled down onto Vanderwood’s chest, he reached for the remote and started the movie. She could probably hear his heart skipping just a little as she'd first laid down, something he was starting to get used to when it came to her. Vanderwood stroked her hair and back gently, knowing she liked that from the time they'd spent watching TV in the hotel room. Cerise could hear the quickening of his heartbeat as she snuggled the cherry pillow trapped between them. She found the way his heart changed pace as she nuzzled him endearing as well as amusing. This man wasn't playing when he said he had feelings for her, and it made her own heart beat faster. Cerise couldn't help but to close her eyes despite the movie playing as he stroked her hair. She was a victim to the calming sound of his heartbeat. The way he was gently stroking her hair and then her back...who could blame her for having heavy eyelids?

He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head as he hit play on the main menu. This was so incredibly pleasant. His brows furrowed as a soft hissing got his attention. Vanderwood looked up, seeing the emergency sprinkler directly above him opening up. Shit fuck, and the next moment the sprinkler started pouring on them. He was pretty stuck with her on top of him, not wanting to move too fast and knock her off him to get hurt.

Cerise was just able to drift off when she was beginning to get soaked with water, causing her to shriek and jump up. Her first instinct was to protect her phone, so she shoved it in between the cushion and arm of the couch. It was already too late for the pillow she was cuddling in her arms. She looked up to see that all of the water was coming from the sprinkler above the couch and moved away from it to try and get out of range of the thing. "How do you turn this thing off!?"

Vanderwood was about to get more soaked than he already was. "Fucking...Just a second." He pushed himself up and hopped onto the couch, reaching up to the sprinkler and manually placing it into the locked position, stopping the downpour. Everything was sopping wet, from his hair, to his clothes, to his girlfriend. His jacket and gloves would need some tending to after this bullshit. Grumbling, he hopped off the couch, pulling off the items and hanging them over a nearby chair to dry. This had to be Seven. One single sprinkler turns on and it happens to be the one right above them? Vanderwood turned to check on his girlfriend. "You alright, Cerise? Besides being wet, I mean." His eyebrow twitched just a little. The redhead was going to get it. He didn't know how yet, but he'd figure it out.

Cerise nodded and looked to the now soaked couch where her phone was hidden, approaching slowly just in case the sprinkler decided to come back on. She reached for her phone, scrunching her eyes closed tight before trying to press the home button and then opening her eyes to see if it had turned on. Thankfully it still worked and wasn't damaged…but her poor pillow. Cerise squished it a little and water dripped onto the floor. She stared at it blankly for a moment before tears formed in her eyes. Once a soft, fluffy pillow got wet, it would never be the same again. She hadn't even gotten to properly cuddle it yet! It probably seemed silly to cry over a pillow but dammit! It had so much cuddling potential! Cerise kind of crouched with the wet pillow and held it to her chest, not caring because she was rather soaked herself. One last cuddle for her fallen comrade.

He watched rather helplessly as tears formed in her eyes. Holy shit, his girlfriend was crying! What was he supposed to do? He felt completely unprepared. Oh, that redhead was _so_ dead. Vanderwood just went with his gut instinct and crouched down next to her, pulling her into his arms with gentle care and kissing the top of her head. He didn't say anything, not really one hundred percent positive on why she was crying, but he supposed that didn't really matter at the moment. What was important was that he got her to feel better, and this seemed like a normal way to do that...right?

Cerise leaned into him and sniffled a little. "The pillow you got me is ruined...you're not supposed to get them wet..." Vanderwood held her a little tighter as she sniffled. "I'm sorry, shortcake..." It seemed a rather silly thing to be crying over to him, he’d been concerned that it was something horrible. Well, maybe this was horrible in her mind. The harder Cerise squeezed the pillow, the more water dripped from it. It was like her pillow was crying too.

After a few minutes of silence, she straightened herself up and did her best to wring out the rest of the water from the pillow. She sighed and looked at it with a sad expression before turning back to Vanderwood who was starting to stand up now too. "At least I still have it so...that's a plus." Cerise shivered a little, reminding her that she was indeed still wet, and the room was a little chilly. "We should probably go get some dry clothes. "They were pretty damn soaked, and Vanderwood wasn’t about to disagree with her, definitely not when she’d just been crying. "Let me just go grab your stuff out of the car.”

He was thinking about how he would get back at Seven as he headed out to the car, grabbing her bag from the back. His eyebrow twitched as he heard something else, faint thanks to his hearing damage but... Was that barking? Oh no. Oh no, _no_. Vanderwood broke out in a run back to the living room.

Cerise had taken out her phone to write a status update while she waited when she heard shuffling. She looked around confused until there was barking. What looked like a tiny robotic dog had wandered into the living room and was barking at her. It was actually kinda cute, and she kinda wanted to...pet it? She had made up her mind to do so when Vanderwood came barreling back into the living room, yelling not to touch it.

 "Cerise! Whatever you do don't touch that dog!" What the Hell was the redhead thinking? That stupid fire-breathing guard dog could really hurt her. Of course, Seven was probably sending it out for _him_ , but really. What the fuck? The dog was standing in the living room, facing the doorway as Vanderwood came in, and then it's mouth opened, an orange glow visible. Oh shit. He ducked out of the way and ran to pick up Cerise, carrying her bridal style.

She had turned to shoot him a puzzled look before the dog's mouth began to glow, and then he was picking her up and running off with her. It was hard for her mind to keep up. The dog started to spew flames from its mouth as it chased him. What was even happening...? "The dog breathes fire!?" She asked him incredulously. Was this normal for this place? It wasn't long before the lights went out too, the only light coming from the glow of the robot dog's flames. Now Cerise was panicking and terrified. It was like something out of a horror movie.

Holy Lord, this wasn't good. He couldn't remember the damn command for the mutt. Had Seven been banking on him remembering? Jesus. "It's okay, just...gotta remember what ‘heel’ is in Arabic." Vanderwood was going to _strangle_ Seven. It was dark too, and he was having to think hard to figure out where his own room was. Cerise was in danger in his own damn house. He started randomly spewing the Arabic words he could remember as the dog continued to bark away. At least it was keeping its fireballs restricted to the floor. Vanderwood got to his doorway after what felt like running in circles for ages, placing Cerise and her bag inside. "Change here, I'll take care of the mutt." He closed the door as fast as he could to keep that dog out, running back into the living room to find his Arabic dictionary in his jacket.

Cerise stumbled around in the room a bit in the dark, her heart beating wildly and trying to calm down. She was worried but was sure that Vanderwood could handle it...being an actual secret agent and all. Still...that dog was scary. What dog breathes fire anyways!? She dug around in her bag to try and find some clothes to change into. She couldn't really see, so she grabbed whatever. Matching was the least of her problems at the moment, and she just wanted to be out of her wet clothes. Cerise peeled off her clothes and replaced them with the dry ones she had randomly chosen. Just as suddenly as the lights had turned off, they turned back on. Did that mean Vanderwood had successfully defeated the scary fire breathing robot dog? She wanted to take a peek outside of the dorm but decided against it, because who knew after that what she would find?

Vanderwood had been stumbling around trying to find his jacket when the redhead finally decided to show a little mercy by turning the lights back on. He was probably laughing his ass off as he watched from the CCTV's. After grabbing his jacket and rummaging around in the pockets, he was finally able to find the dictionary. It was soaked, but somehow, he found the right page. Vanderwood gave the command and the dog stopped completely, sitting back on its haunches and shutting down.

Such a quick fix for something so disastrous. He breathed a sigh of relief and focused on trying to catch his breath. There were scorch marks all over the floor. So that was why the house had been clean, why he’d used the sprinkler on the couch. Seven had been trying to keep from starting an actual fire or damaging anything important. The brunet’s eyebrow was twitching like mad, his skin starting to crawl as he looked at the mess. Vanderwood needed to clean…but then Cerise was probably worried. As much as he couldn’t stand the mess, his OCD making him itch like mad, Vanderwood started to make his way back to his room. She was far more important than the mess.

"Everything's fine now, shortcake!" Vanderwood called out to her before he returned to his room, pausing before entering, not wanting to walk in on her changing like he had that one time. He knocked and waited for her okay before opening the door and going to her, taking her face in his hands. "Are you alright?" His brown eyes searched her gold ones as he ran his hands over her, looking for any injuries just in case, too focused on the task at hand to be flustered by it.

"I'm fine...are you?" He just nodded as he continued what he was doing. Cerise didn't really care that he was dripping some water on her as he checked her over, she was just happy that he was able to handle the danger and get back seemingly without any injuries. Having him worry over her like this was sweet...even if having his hands run over her was a little flustering. She knew his mind wasn't anywhere near that, so she didn't make a fuss over it. "You should probably get changed yourself. I'll wait outside the door." It shouldn't be a problem if the threat of the dog was taken care of. Cerise gave him a quick squeeze before she headed out the door, closing it behind her and waiting for him to change.

Vanderwood had been about to tell her that he had an attached bathroom, but she was already headed out of the door, and he was getting hit with a Hell of a realization. Only then did he realize that he'd just touched her practically everywhere. His face turned all sorts of red as he grabbed some clothes to change into, getting out of his soaked pants as well as his shoes and everything else. He could walk around the house barefoot just fine, so Vanderwood threw on just a t-shirt and some pants, praying to whatever douchebag of a God existed that Seven was done with his trolling game before joining Cerise just outside his room in the hallway.

When he finally reappeared from his room, she turned around to face him and couldn't help but to blush a little. He was wearing normal clothes...just a t-shirt and pants, but somehow, he made it look extremely attractive. She was pulled from her thoughts when he started getting close to her and her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest. Normally she wasn't this hyper aware of him or this flustered at the mere sight of him...What was going on? He was giving her a sheepish smile, trying not to think about the fact he'd just had his hands all over her.

His thoughts slipped to Seven, anger and tenseness slipping into him, worse the more he thought about it. He decided to focus on Cerise, knowing she had that amazing ability to calm him down...when she wasn't irritating him too. A small snort escaped him at the thought. She was his everything, and he was really going to give that redhead some good payback, although he wasn't positive on how yet. Vanderwood bent his head to give Cerise a kiss. Cerise melted right into him, her hands going to his chest as he pulled her closer. Was her heartbeat even wilder than normal? She didn’t have time to dwell on it.

The floor was moving out from under them, and Vanderwood broke their kiss just before it sped up even more. Fuck. How had he forgotten about the damn hallway conveyor belt? They tumbled, causing Cerise to shriek in surprise. Thankfully, she had fallen on top of him. Vanderwood grunted as he hit the floor, quick to wrap his arms around her protectively. Then the conveyor belt just stopped moving, having deposited them at the end of the hallway.

Once the dumb conveyor belt stopped moving, she attempted to check on him, because he was the one who had the pleasure of falling right onto the floor with extra weight on him. "Marion! Ohmygosh Are you okay?" Luckily, her wound hadn't been disturbed much. It ached a little, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Vanderwood’s mind was turning toward revenge. Seven was _so_ dead. He probably wouldn't be home until late that night, but that meant he wasn't going to get much sleep…Perfect. It really wasn't time to think about that right now with her on top of him, though, and now she was fussing over him. He couldn't help but blush at how she was checking on him, using his real name. It just sounded so nice coming from her. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, shortcake." His hand found her cheek, thumb stroking gently. "I'm fine." Actually, he was surprised that he wasn't so tense that he couldn't think, surprised at just how little effort it was taking to push irritation away in favor of caring for her and enjoying her presence. It seemed like the more he had gotten used to not using sex as a stress-reliever, the easier it was to relax normally. That felt so fucking good. No pun intended.

Cerise sighed in relief and smiled as he responded to her. The guy took bullets and being cut like a champ, of course a fall wouldn't hurt him...but she still couldn't help but to worry. Cerise nuzzled into his hand before realizing that maybe she should get off of him, so he could get up. She laughed nervously and stood up, blushing something fierce again. "I uh...thanks for breaking my fall by the way..."

That blush on her face was supremely adorable, and he immediately responded without even thinking. "I'll always be there to break your fall...Just like you were when I fell for you." Cheesy. He was going to have to get used to the fact that he sounded like an utter idiot when he was hitting on her. All other women, he was charming and sultry, but no, he was just a cheesy idiot with her. Vanderwood got up from the floor, briefly rubbing the back of his head where he'd whacked it, for once not rubbing it because he felt awkward. He was so sweet, and it was just making her blush worse. She turned around, so he couldn't see her, rubbing at her cheeks...which was probably doing absolutely nothing.

He looked up at the CCTV directly above them and flipped it off. It was best to get the two of them out of any main areas of the house where Seven could enjoy watching his trolling through CCTV feeds. "Let's head to my room...It's safer in there." Cerise nodded her head in agreement, hoping that maybe _magically_ her blush would go down, as she turned to follow him back to his room. They were both stepping carefully, so as to avoid the conveyor belt. Yeah...his room was probably safer. She didn't quite know what was going on, but she definitely didn't want any more surprises from the weird house.

Vanderwood was busy hating himself for having moved into Seven’s house, but it had become impossible not to with the way the redhead had started slacking when that ‘MC’ joined the RFA or whatever stupid charity group it was that the idiot had joined despite the security risk. Could he really judge the redhead for the security risk anymore now that he had his own? It was better not to think about it. Honestly, it all felt a little like déjà vu, as though maybe he’d been through this route of things several times before. His scar from Drawl started to ache as well as his head, so he just shook his head and opened his door, holding it open to let Cerise inside. At least they’d be safer in here.

Check out my website.[ ~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	13. Addiction Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood isn't struggling with his addiction as much as he once was, in fact, he feels like he's made some massive recovery.

***Here comes some naughty naughty ;3 that y'all have been asking for. There are also three commissioned Cherrywood smuts that will be posted eventually on my website. Don't worry though, you'll see them soon too, if you're patient enough. Enjoy you some loving Cherrywood. ~Let's Connect! FFC***

Cerise was happy for the safety that his room provided, or at least…that he said it provided. Marion had never lied to her, though, so she had no reason to think they wouldn’t be safe here. Now that the lights were on and things were calm, she was able to get a good look. It was spacious enough, if pretty bare.

It looked like he kept only the essentials around, no decorations of any sort and remarkably clean. There was a TV with some movies, an open closet with what looked like both clothes and weapons readily available, and then a door leading to the side which she assumed was a bathroom. So, he could have just changed in there earlier and avoided the whole conveyor belt incident. Woops. There was also…a strange bar hanging from the ceiling which she now approached. It was way too high for her to reach, but she got his attention and pointed at it. “What’s this for?”

Vanderwood had been watching her take everything in, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his head before she asked about his exercise bar. “Oh, I use that for working out.” She had furrowed her brows, and he shrugged before the idea slipped into his head. “Do you…wanna see something cool?” Oh, dear God, he sounded like an awkward teenage boy. Maybe she would think he was ridiculous, but Cerise just chuckled, moving away and gesturing to the bar again. “Yep! Impress me!~” Was he really going to show off for her? No matter how much he protested that he wasn’t cute, Marion was _absolutely cute_.

The way she’d responded…it actually on some level made him feel nervous and excited at the same time. So ridiculous. He was completely ridiculous, and he could feel heat on his face as he jumped to grab onto the bar. It was tall enough for him to hang off of without his feet touching the ground so that he could do pull ups. Cerise watched as he flipped up onto the bar. Heck, just that was impressive to her. She didn't think she could do that even if she tried...She'd probably just fall flat on her bottom. He made brief eye contact with her before he swung his body back and forth to get the momentum he needed before flipping up and putting his knees onto the bars. Usually, he did this shirtless, so he grabbed it just as it was slipping down to cover his face, pulling it upwards so he could see her.

A giggle had escaped her as his shirt had slipped before he corrected that problem, but it just made it obvious to him that if he was going to actually show her anything from the bar, he'd need the shirt off. He moved almost effortlessly, essentially doing a sit up from that position and pulling his shirt off, tossing it into his closet. Cerise could feel a blush coming on full force. After that, he honestly didn't even need to do anything with the bar, she was already impressed. "You're...really good with that thing."

Vanderwood came back down from his sit up to just hang there as she complimented him, his own blush getting more intense. He had managed to impress her, and that gave him a little boost of pride. "Thanks, shortcake." Looking at her upside down was a little odd, so he gripped either side of the bar flipping back down before letting go and landing on his feet. If she was already impressed, he didn’t really need to waste time showing her more when he was just going to work out again later anyway. He didn't bother going to get his shirt. It wasn’t hard to imagine that she liked the view, and he liked that. "Think I've impressed my girlfriend into giving me a kiss?"

Her eyes followed him as he flipped back down. She had to admit it was pretty cool, and the body strength he had was beyond impressive. His question made her heart flip just a little, but she didn’t waste time in responding. "I think you have. Your girlfriend is...very impressed." Cerise sheepishly giggled standing on her tip toes so she could reach up and pull him down to her to place a kiss on his lips. It was as if she had to climb a mountain any time she wanted to do something other than hug him; a lot of the time she really wished she was taller.

He kissed her back gently, bending down to meet her halfway, so she didn't have to work so hard to reach him. Vanderwood felt like he’d have to get used to being bent over all of the time. Remembering how he'd helped her reach her pillow at the store they’d been to the other day, it gave him an idea. His hands went to her hips, looking into her eyes in question to give her time to decide. "Want a boost?"

Cerise had enjoyed the little kiss, flinching for just a moment as he put his hands on her hips because she was still worried about her wound. A boost? Was he wanting to pick her up? It probably would be easier for him to not have to bend down for her, for her not to have to stretch to get to him. Cerise thought for a second before grinning up at him. "I dunno...I'm really heavy, I'm not sure someone like you could pick me up."

A soft snort escaped him at her sing-song teasing. To him, she weighed practically nothing. He hoisted her up, helping her to wrap her legs around his waist, putting an arm around her back and the other underneath her legs, blushing hard as he tried not to think about it too much. Proximity with her made his heart go insane. "Easier to kiss me from here?"

Initially, she had tensed up somewhat, afraid of the pain and possibly falling. She had her legs around him, he was holding her tightly, and she hadn’t felt a single thing, so Cerise was able to relax. Cerise put her arms around his neck, nuzzling him before giving a quick kiss to his nose and then his lips. If she tried that before in succession, it probably would have taken a lot more effort and bending. "Much easier. Plus, the view's kinda nice up here."

He laughed, it felt so good to laugh these days. It wasn’t that dry cynicism anymore. "Oh yes, and the weather's always great." Vanderwood found he quite liked holding her like this. He had a direct view of her face which he usually could only get when they were snuggled up together in bed. Vanderwood could look right into her golden eyes from here, almost getting lost in them, because they were just..."So beautiful..." He realized he'd said that aloud and blushed again. "You know view...of you...you're beautiful." Hardcore words failure as his brain malfunctioned. Wow. He was talented

Cerise had been laughing along with him at his silly joke but stopped when she heard his words absentmindedly slip. The grin was still on her face, accompanied by a blush now. Marion was starting to ramble. Obviously, he hadn’t meant to voice his thoughts, but it made her feel confident that he actually did find her beautiful and wasn't just saying it just to say it. She couldn't help but to giggle again. Sometimes Marion was such a spaz for being such a large, moody guy. Cerise kissed him as he went quiet, holding it a little longer than she usually initiated before pulling away, still grinning. "You're really not so bad yourself~"

Her kisses were death to his heart. It felt like he could never get enough, and her compliment didn't make his heart any more functional. Vanderwood was used to being considered attractive, pretty much any woman was all over him, but from her, it actually meant something. Vanderwood nuzzled her nose gently before brushing his lips against hers. "Thank you, shortcake."

"Anytime," Every time they kissed, it was like her heart was going to explode into a million different pieces. All he really had to do was be near her to make it skip a beat. She had noticed on that first day that he was extremely attractive (all her followers thought so too), but she never guessed that she would end up getting involved with him romantically. Marion really had so much more to offer than his looks, and she adored it all, even the irritated mood swings. Cerise was honestly surprised that he somehow managed to put up with her.

He snorted softly in amusement before kissing her again, not that Cerise minded at all. Sometimes she felt like she could do it all day. The feeling of kissing him was just so addicting. Cerise smiled into it and tightened her hold around his neck with her arms as she copied what he had done to her before by running her tongue over his bottom lip. Though she still had no idea what it had to do with the French, she wanted to show him that she was definitely learning and taking notes.

As he felt her tongue on his lower lip he made a soft little gasp of surprise, opening his mouth to her gladly. His heart had stopped and only started again once she was taking advantage of the opening he'd given her. She was proud of herself, obviously doing something right if he hadn't pulled away from her yet. In most situations, Cerise considered herself a fast learner, and she felt that this was no exception. Cerise was taking full advantage of the opening, and it felt nice to just do it, without him having to explain to her how or why. She let her tongue playfully push against his, taking the time to be the one exploring his mouth for a change.

Vanderwood wasn't sure he could handle continuing this while he was standing. His heart was an absolute mess. Usually he wouldn’t get so lost in things like this, but he was also usually the instigator. No one ever got to do this kind of thing with him. He didn’t want to have his focuses divided, careful as he walked backwards and waiting to feel the bed against the back of his legs before he sat down. It was a marvel that Cerise only mildly tensed as he’d started to move, but she trusted him completely.

Now she was right in his lap. That maybe wasn't the best idea, because she was completely throwing him right now. He was so lost in her, his hand slipping from her back into her hair. Cerise’s own hands had moved into his hair too, running her fingers through the soft mess of brown. They’d made out plenty by now in the span of their short relationship, always with him guiding it and pulling away, but he wasn’t stopping her as she was taking charge.

The more she explored and tested movements with her tongue, the more she touched him, Vanderwood just melted into her body and soul. He was really only concerned about one thing right now, because Vanderwood knew any second that she was going to feel the beginning evidence of his excitement. He didn't want to stop her, but he needed to be sure that she knew. They hadn’t been together long, but it had been a much longer time for him than he was used to since he’d last had sex or even gotten off, so the excitement was coming on fast.

Vanderwood broke the kiss, trying to untie his tongue but failing miserably, stuttering worse than he ever had. "Cerise if...you don't stop I'm...gonna get...you know..." Holy God, what the Hell was he even trying to say? Of course. she didn't know, phrases and innuendo weren't really her thing. He was going to have to be clear about it. "Turned on...I....already kind of am." Wait, did she know what turned on meant? Vanderwood felt like a bumbling teenager in the back of their parents' car with how stupid he was acting.

She had felt a little disappointed when he broke their kiss, especially since she had just begun to get the swing of it, but the way he began to stutter and act was totally worth it. It took her a minute as she listened amused, but as soon as she realized what he was saying, she was turning red again. Cerise was having a little trouble fully processing it just because of how flustered it was making _her_. She had turned him on? Just the thought made her entire body heat up, so much so that she probably looked like a lobster. Cerise wasn't able to look him in the eye for the moment and just kept a hand in his hair, still playing around with it. The bare wall was really interesting right then. "Do you...want me to stop?"

He bit his tongue at the feeling of her hand still in his hair as she looked away from him at the wall. They were both bright red at this point, but what she said had him thinking. _He_ sure as Hell didn't want her to stop, but he was more worried about her than anything. "Do you...want to keep going?" It felt like even his ears were on fire.

"I...might not want to stop if we start something..." His mind was now playing around with the idea, the thought of her, bare and beneath him. Vanderwood had to bite his tongue to shut his head up. Up until now, they hadn’t gone anything anywhere near sex. He’d been concerned about his recovery, about whether she was ready, so as much as he was sexually frustrated and wanting her, it was all up to her. 

Cerise flickered her gaze towards him as he talked. "You...know....I haven't...I'm not..." She wasn't sure what she was trying to say. Of course, he was aware that she had absolutely no experience, that much was evident when they had kissed. Then there was the fact that she looked nothing like anyone he had previously been with. Insecurities started to build up inside her, threatening to spill out. She had to take a deep breath to calm herself. Closing her eyes, she rested her forehead against his. "I trust you...look how far you've come."

What was she trying to say? Vanderwood was about to ask, when he realized what she meant. Right...of course, he'd known that. She clearly had no experience, and that was fine. He just wanted her, wanted her to feel comfortable. As she rested her forehead against his, he closed his eyes as well, fingers caressing down her back gently, meant to be soothing but probably conveying at least a little of what he was feeling right now. "It's all thanks to you...I've never wanted someone like this before..." That was true. Before it had been all about the sex itself, not the person on the other side of it.

With Cerise, he wanted her, wanted to make her feel good, wanted to show her how he felt about her. "So...It's a little new to me too...and I'll be gentle, I promise..." Cerise was so small he would have to be, especially for a first time. He wasn't entirely sure it wouldn't hurt like all Hell for her; virgins weren't exactly an experience he'd had.

It comforted her to know that part of this was new to him too. At least there was something that they could both experience together. Honestly, she had no idea what she was supposed to expect. Of course, she wasn't completely oblivious...but the reality was that all she really knew was what she’d seen in her cartoon phone games and her telenovelas. She was pretty sure that they didn't translate completely into real life. Her heart was beating in her chest probably harder than it ever had in her life. Was this really going to happen? Cerise had no idea what she was doing or what she was supposed to be doing. She liked to flirt and talk a big game but in reality, she was a clueless, flustered mess.

Vanderwood could tell she was apprehensive, unsure, but he wasn’t about to push her. "I'll do my best to take care of you...so please don't stop." His hands found the edge of her shirt now, fingertips ducking just under the fabric to caress the skin of her lower back as he moved his head to hover his lips just a hair's breadth away from hers, letting her make the final decision.

The way Marion was caressing her skin was comforting and helped calm Cerise’s nerves a little bit. He was letting her decide if she wanted to move forward with things; she could pull back now if she wanted to. Just the fact that he had given her that option showed her that he had made a great deal of progress. Cerise didn't think she could turn any redder than she currently was as she closed the distance between them to pick up where they had left off.

His heart was trying to escape his chest as he kissed her back, giving her lip a nibble before giving her an opening to return to her exploration of his mouth. She took the opening like she had before he had stopped her, enjoying the feeling of getting to kiss him again. The knowledge of what she knew this was going to eventually lead to made her feel a little flustered, but she attempted to push it into the back of her mind.

This was really going to happen, then? Vanderwood’s hands continued their caressing for a while, not wanting to move too quickly for her, even though he really wanted to see her without it. But patience was apparently not his virtue. It didn’t take long before the temptation was too much. Vanderwood tugged gently at her shirt before realizing she probably wouldn't get the hint and lifting it just a little over her midsection, hoping that would make more sense, but he didn't go any further, waiting for her okay.

Cerise felt him tug at her shirt and then begin to lift it before stopping. Was he asking her to take it off? That's was what she figured, anyways. Their kiss was broken again as she removed her shirt the rest of the way, not meeting his eyes as she did so. Usually she was really confident in her looks, but right then she just felt so insecure. "That's what you wanted...right?" Was she living up to what he was used to? Probably not…

"Yeah..." He wasn't sure he could talk at first, leaning back just a little to take in the view as his heart stuttered and tried to restart. His fingers slid along her collarbone and then down, fingering along the edge of her bra. Somehow, he was acting as nervous as she was, but at least he had some semblance of what to do. Cerise felt goosebumps as he slid his fingers along her skin, and she thought her heart would completely stop when he went anywhere near her bra. He had mentioned before that he was getting turned on, and by now she could definitely tell that he was excited, especially with her legs still wrapped around him. Deep breaths...it did amuse her how equally red he was when compared to her, making affection swell up in her chest.

His eyes flitted to hers again, and he coughed softly, his face so red he probably looked like an idiot. As he ran his fingers along her skin, he gently covered her wound with the palm of his other hand. It hurt to look at it, knowing why it was there. She put a hand over his, silently telling him that it was okay. If he hadn't made that decision, much worse could have happened to her, and she was thankful that it hadn't.

Vanderwood bit his tongue before he did something he'd never done. He took her hand and gently placed it on his own chest. "You can touch me too...if you want..." She had to admit, she did want to touch him. Cerise had before touched his scars but the intent behind it was totally different than what they were doing now. "Alright...then..." She knew he was toned before, but now she could appreciate that he had a really nice body as her hands traveled around his chest and torso. Her other hand joined, and she would stop at any of his scars she would find to gently caress them. It hurt her that he seemed to have so many. Such a sweet man didn't deserve that much pain.

His breath hitched in his throat every time she caressed his scars, his heart doing a strange little melting thing at the way her touch seemed so caring even with what they were building up to. Vanderwood felt like he would never get used to that, nor was he used to the tingling trail of heat her fingers left behind. Cerise was the only woman he'd ever let touch him like this, and he was glad, because he knew there was no other woman out there who could make him feel this way. His own hands having explored her torso moved lower, slipping onto her legs, shaping them as he traced little designs along her thighs with his fingertips, not entirely surprised to find that they were rather toned.

Cerise bit her lip for just a moment as his hands had moved to her legs. She was used to casual touches, but she had never let someone close to her in this way. At least it was him…She was glad it was him, that she’d never let someone else this close. Her hands moved along his toned abs, and she still couldn't help but marvel at how well he kept in shape. He had always found time to exercise while they were on the run, so it was no wonder. His touches, while soothing, felt like they left flames in their wake. She began to feel like she was completely burning up, guessing that her being flustered had reached its peak.

He did his best not to grind his hips against hers, still wanting to move slow, even if his body didn't want to. Vanderwood slipped his hand to her upper back, the other on her hip as he moved her onto the bed with gentle care to lie beneath him, the change in position removing some of the urge. "Is this alright?" He gently kissed her neck as he waited for her response, checking in on her just to be sure, surprised that he hadn't been completely swept away by his desire for her.

His lips on her neck for that instant left behind a tingling feeling that she decided she liked. He had even been gentle when he moved her, which she was thankful for, because otherwise it might have startled her. "Yeah." She nodded a bit for extra confirmation. "Everything is good..." Cerise gave him a smile accompanied by a wink like she normally would. With how flustered she was right now, it actually probably looked weird, if she thought about it. It didn't matter, her main concern was letting him know that she was okay and not uncomfortable.

Vanderwood snorted at the way his body tensed thanks to _that wink_ , just happy that she was feeling okay. He kissed her neck again, before giving it a teasing nip and then a tease of his tongue. She was right beneath him, letting him touch her, and the vulnerability of this moment wasn't lost on him.

Cerise had never realized that being kissed somewhere other than her face could be so enjoyable. His teasing of her neck earned him a small whimper...too bad she couldn't blush any harder than she already was...but she didn't regret her decision to share this moment with him. Even though she could practically hear her own heart beating wildly in her ears.It felt like her heartbeat might deafen her when he started at her collarbone and worked his way down, seeming to want to kiss every inch of her skin.

He was loving the way she responded to him. This was the slowest he'd ever gone, but it was enjoyable, because it felt like he was getting to know her body. Vanderwood kissed further downwards until he made it to her bra, sliding his hand around underneath her to find the clasp, eyes locking with hers in question.

During that time, her hands had found their favorite place in his hair. There was just something about it that she loved and couldn't get enough of. She could feel herself tense up. Cerise knew what he was silently asking permission for, it was just hard to get rid of that nagging voice in the back of her head that was saying that she wasn't his preferred body type. She took a deep breath again, those thoughts had to be pushed away with the others.

Her face was so intensely red, she probably looked like a tomato at this point. Cerise shifted her eyes to avoid eye contact with him and slipped her arms through the straps to make it easier, giving him the permission he had asked for. Vanderwood bit at his tongue, thinking that maybe she was a little self-conscious. She wasn't his typical type, but the sight of her topless took his breath away in a way no one else ever could.

After her bra was removed, she didn't think she had ever felt more vulnerable in her life. It was like her heart stopped, and there was a complete silence while he traced along her skin there, her breath hitched when he did the same thing to her nipple...and then she was back to hearing her heart strong in her ears. "You're beautiful, Cerise...I want you to know that..." He bent his head to kiss her breast. "Look at me...please?" If she was feeling self-conscious, he wanted to help her feel better, because there was no one as beautiful or attractive to him as she was.

Hesitantly she returned her gaze to him. His words did help her calm down a little. Marion loved her, she knew that, he was showing her great care and was really considerate. She was just really nervous and unsure of herself. "I'm...looking."

Vanderwood locked his eyes with hers, those golden eyes he loved so much. "You are absolutely perfect to me, in every way." His voice was soft as he moved upwards again to give her a soft kiss, his hand rubbing her breast gently causing her to whimper. When he rolled his thumb over her nipple, she couldn’t help but squirm. It felt so sensitive, and she wasn’t used to the pleasurable sensation. When he broke the kiss. her breathing became a little heavier and her body felt...strange. She couldn't really explain it, but it was a good feeling. Was this what it was like to be turned on?

“Good?” Vanderwood felt the need to ask for the first time in his life. He was relatively confident in his ability to please her, if only a little worried, and he’d never paid this much attention to his partner before. Cerise reached up to caress his cheek lovingly, setting his mind at ease with her reply. "Y-yeah...good." He nuzzled her hand gently, pressing a soft kiss to her palm. Vanderwood gave her another little kiss before he moved down again, pressing a kiss to her other breast. She didn't tense up as bad the second time around, and she was trying her best not to be...weird? about things. What even constituted as weird?

The look in his eyes was intense, but loving as he once more locked their gazes. That loving intensity was comforting to her, but at the same time made her heart feel like it wanted to escape her chest. She ended up biting her lip pretty hard as he swirled his tongue over her nipple, because at this point she felt like her body was just trying to respond automatically to him. Cerise was not about to make some ungodly weird noises while he was doing anything, no matter how good they felt or how much she felt like she needed to.

Vanderwood built himself up to it slowly before he began to suck on her nipple, and now she failed completely, a moan escaping her lips on its own, seemingly beyond her control. It sent what felt like a shock through him right to his arousal, and all he wanted was to make her do it again while Cerise inwardly panicked. Was that weird? That had to be weird. People on TV didn't make those noises. They were actually relatively quiet unless they were fighting? And they were covered with sheets if they even kissed. Oh god. _Were they supposed to have sheets_? It took a lot of concentration to keep from doing it again, but then Vanderwood switched to her other breast, and she ended up doing it anyways.

Obviously, judging from the small moans he'd gotten so far, Vanderwood figured he still had some work to do to make her more comfortable. It was getting more and more difficult to be patient now that he knew she was enjoying it, but he found he was enjoying it nonetheless. His hand traced along the band of her skirt now, telling her without words what he would be doing next, slipping his fingers into the elastic of her skirt. "May I?" Vanderwood was still doing his best to let her decide when things would continue.

His question completely broke her out of her mortified worries. "Umm..." Words...how did words work? How to make words and not weird noises? _Focus_..."I...yeah...you can." Good, good. It was at least comprehensible. Vanderwood just snorted softly. How even in a situation like this could she be adorable? He pulled her skirt away, tossing it to the side before he ran his fingers along her leg, trying not to lose his ability to breathe as he looked at her. Now that her skirt was gone and the only thing she was wearing were her panties, the realization hit Cerise that she was almost completely naked in front of him. It was time for those deep breaths again. Everything was okay.

As much as he wanted to get straight to the point, Vanderwood knew it still wasn't time. Particularly when she still seemed tense, almost as though she was fighting with herself. He could only assume it was the moans she was trying to bite back. "You don't have to be so quiet, you know...I like your noises." His voice pulled Cerise from her thoughts again. He liked her noises...? She was relieved that she wasn't being weird, at least. The deep breaths would work if she could control her breathing...Which she couldn't very well at the moment...especially now that he was kissing along her thigh like that, sending shivers along her spine.

He gave her a teasing bite, testing just a little where her limits were, he needed to know anyway, right? It wasn't just for his enjoyment. Okay, maybe mostly it was. Now, Cerise shot him a look. _Did he just bite me?_ He would get payback for that later, and she was about to scold him before she completely froze. Vanderwood had liked that look in her eyes now that he’d bitten her, but had finally allowed himself to touch her heat, running his fingers up to find her sensitive bud through the cloth of her panties. That’s when another very loud and involuntary moan escaped her. Cerise almost covered her mouth until she remembered what he had said.

That sound was so fucking heavenly, and Vanderwood shifted to nuzzle her nose gently. "Keep that up…It lets me know I'm doing a good job." Wow, he was really finding his groove, or at least he thought he was really finding his groove until he locked eyes with her again and was blushing like a madman. At least he was still somehow managing to be smooth. The blush on his face was so deep, that Cerise couldn’t help but be a little amused. She would never not find that cute...but all of this and how good it felt wasn't going to get him back for biting her. No face he could make, no matter how cute, could save him, not even how good what he was doing felt. Her breathing was definitely more labored now, and she couldn't quite get it under control.

Vanderwood couldn't handle how tight his pants were anymore, so he removed them, tossing them to the side. He left his boxers on, certain that if he took those off, his patience would run out. That, and he was certain it wasn't polite to just get naked in front of her without warning. Her eyes had followed as he went to remove his own pants. Was it rude to stare? She wasn't too sure, but she felt that as his girlfriend, she was allowed to. Something she definitely noticed was how excited he had gotten. It wasn't like she couldn't not notice, though she tried not to dwell on it, because she would rather not have a heart attack at the age of twenty.

His fingers found the elastic of her panties now. The fact that his pants were now off was not helping the heat in her body at all, nor was the way he was tugging on her panties. There was just this one piece of cloth left to have her fully naked beneath him. Vanderwood was waiting for her okay once more, giving her the control in this crucial moment. It was her last line of defense. His erection was so uncomfortable, even just caught behind his boxers, but this was her decision to make.

There was no going back after they were removed...that was it. Cerise contemplated for a moment before meeting his gaze with her own. Blushing wildly, she reached out to put her hand over his own to help tug her panties down just a bit, hopefully showing him that it was okay to move on, that she was okay.

He took her assistance to mean just that, removing her panties and tossing them atop the little pile of clothes he'd created on the floor. He took a moment just to look at her, his heart starting and stopping irregularly. "Absolutely beautiful..." His voice was more of a low whisper. This wasn't just in his head, it was really happening. Cerise felt very exposed and a bit self-conscious, but he was proving time and time again that he loved her and that he would do his best to make sure he took care of her. She put her entire trust in him.

Vanderwood bent over her to kiss her again, more hungrily this time. Cerise met his kiss with a similar enthusiasm. He now rubbed her heat, nothing between his fingers and her, pulling away from their kiss so he could watch her face as he teased at her slick folds. She felt like she might as well have been putty in his hands with the way he was teasing at her. It felt so great, and she wasn't as worried about not making noise. He’d said it let him know he was doing a good job, so she didn't hold back, moaning out for him.

God those moans were making it so hard to be patient, but he needed to be sure that she would be ready. He paused and Cerise almost whined. “I'm going to put a finger inside you, alright?" Hopefully, this would help get her more ready for him. He was pretty big for the average woman let alone his petite girlfriend. Vanderwood just wanted to make sure it wouldn't hurt too badly.

"Do it, just _please start touching me again_." She moved her hips towards him, urging him to continue as she gave him a quick kiss. He had been making her feel so good that she didn't even care about being embarrassed at that moment. Vanderwood bumped her nose gently with his. For a guy who knew what he was doing, he was so much more nervous with her. "It'll feel good, I promise."

As he pushed his finger inside of her, he was watching her face, moving it within her. After the initial foreign sensation of having his finger in her, Cerise felt he’d made good on his promise. It did feel good, and she let him know by moaning his name appreciatively. If she hadn't been a squirming, moaning mess before...she certainly was now. Vanderwood started testing around, finding the places that made her moan the loudest.

At this point, his erection was damn painful. He ground it against her leg just for some relief, which had really been a bad idea as he let out his own moan, needing more. Cerise realized now why he wanted to hear her make those noises once she heard him moan for the first time, making her body heat up in the best way. Vanderwood bit his tongue and removed his finger placing it in his mouth and nearly moaning just at the taste of her. She panted a bit, watching him bring his finger to his mouth. It was a little confusing but also pretty hot. Anything he did right now just made her feel like a live wire.

His patience was running out at this point, but by now he felt she was ready for him, or as ready as she was going to get, because if he waited much longer, he wasn't sure he could trust himself not to go too hard. He took a slow breath before reaching for his side table drawer, grabbing a condom from it and then leaning over to kiss her again, pretty much addicted to her lips at this point. Vanderwood mumbled softly against her lips. "Ready, love?" The boxers weren't coming off until he had her answer, just to be safe.

She’d kissed him back and nuzzled her face against his, nodding. Sneakily, she reached her hands down to run a hand over his still concealed erection to tease him a little, figuring he was rather sensitive right then, judging by the way he reacted when he had rubbed against her leg. He gripped the bed as he felt her hand on him, making a sharp intake of breath. Now he just wanted her all the more. Cerise grinned a bit and kissed his cheek, "Ready, mon amour."

His eyes were darker than usual as he gave her a look of his own, was that her payback for his bite to her thigh? Her eyes were so much darker too, warm honey. Vanderwood tried to focus on breathing just to get to the point where he could trust himself to be careful with her. Finally, his erection was free of his boxers and it felt both relieving and little terrifying, because _Holy shit it was really happening_. Cerise had been stroking his cheek up until he removed his boxers, but she couldn't help gawking at him now that he was finally matching her state of undress. He looked so...could you use the word beautiful to describe a man? He was definitely sexy. It was still rather new to her to think about someone in that light.

It didn’t take him longer than a few brief seconds to expertly get the condom out of its wrapper and on. Then he was positioning himself over her, causing her heart to start beating almost out of her chest. His forearm was on the bed near her head, so he could still be close to her despite their height difference. This was it…They were about to do this.

Vanderwood rested his forehead against hers for a moment as his other hand found her hip. "This might hurt a bit at first..." He felt the need to warn her, even though he was sure she knew that already. Cerise had to admit that she was a bit anxious, but with him resting his forehead against hers, it was easier to push that anxiety away. “It’s okay…I’m tougher than I look.”

He took a deep breath before he moved, entering her as slowly as he could manage. His hand gripped her hip maybe a little roughly, but she felt so good. It was enough to make him lose his breath completely. Cerise didn’t realize she had been holding her breath as well before she gasped as he was entering her, trying to take a slow breath. It did hurt a bit, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to get used to the sensation of taking him in. It felt so much different than when he just used his finger, and she could tell that he was adjusting to her himself with how roughly he was gripping her hip.

Was it his imagination or was this even better than any other time? Definitely not his imagination. It took everything in him to pause for her, allow her to adjust as he kept his forehead against hers. "Tell me when I can move..." It wasn't normal for him to let someone else tell him what to do, but for Cerise it was a necessity. She ran her hands along his sides as she attempted to get used to him. "O...okay. I'm okay...it's fine..."

Vanderwood nuzzled her, obviously it hurt, the way her voice was so small and the look on her face. Her hands on his side had his breath hitching again, but he just gripped the sheet below him a little harder. There was no way he was letting himself get carried away right now, as much as his body was screaming at him to do so, because it just felt all too good for him. The fact that it wasn't feeling good for her yet was just a bump in the road, or at least that's what he told himself. Did it hurt the entire time for women when they lost their virginity? How the Hell would he know?

Cerise was as okay as she felt she was going to be for now, but she trusted that it wasn't going to continue to hurt, he wouldn't have let that happen. "You can..." Her voice was quieter than it normally was, and she was sure that he could see she was visibly a bit nervous about it. When it came to pain of any sort, she was a bit of a baby. She told herself that this was going to be okay; she had been enjoying it so far. They just had to get through this small hurdle.

“Alright, shortcake.” It was still clearly uncomfortable for her, probably thanks to how shit her pain tolerance was. He was going to have to be extra gentle. Vanderwood kissed her softly as he moved, going slower than he probably ever had and letting out a low moan against her lips. It was pure torture for him that he couldn't move any faster, but he just nuzzled into her neck now, pressing soft kisses there as he waited for her to get past the pain.

When he’d first started to move, she tried to focus on his soft kiss and how gently he was treating her. She could feel herself become less tense, making the pain she had felt subside while he nuzzled into her neck and started placing kisses there. It wasn't long before she didn't notice any pain at all, having it replaced by a pleasurable feeling. Cerise felt comfortable enough to move her hips against him a bit, testing the waters. It caused him to groan right in her ear and a small moan escaped her own lips. Yeah...definitely no pain anymore. Vanderwood bit down on his tongue. If she was moving against him, then the pain was subsiding, but he wasn’t about to risk it.

Cerise felt like she was really coming into her own now, and she wanted to make sure he knew too, just in case. "Marion..." She started, her voice was a little shaky, "...doesn't hurt. Anymore...I mean. " Vanderwood was thankful for her communication, taking his hand from her hip and moving it to the side of her neck, gently stroking her jawline with his thumb. "Good...I'll move a little more now, then." His voice sounded foreign to him, too low to be his with just a little hint of growl in the back of his throat. He wasn't used to talking during sex, so maybe that was really just what he sounded like in bed?

Cerise brought her hand up and ghosted her fingers over his at the side of her neck before turning her head to kiss his fingers. His voice was a little huskier than it normally was, but Cerise decided that she liked it. "Okay...just...don't worry so much. You're not going to break me." She didn't want her inexperience to keep him from enjoying himself too. It was clear that he was being extra careful with her, like he was afraid that one wrong move would shatter her. If she could handle taking a knife to the stomach and survive, surely this should be a piece of cake, especially now that it felt so good.

Vanderwood picked up the pace from that agonizing slowness to something more manageable for him, hoping it would be good for her too and gritting his teeth as he moaned her name. It sent a shock through Cerise’s system, and she could feel her body reacting to something as simple as his voice. That was new too, usually he was incredibly quiet, but Cerise had him all wrapped up in sensation, completely different than just chasing the high. Vanderwood kept his eyes on her, not wanting to forget who he was with, wanting to watch her reacting to any change he made, so he could make her feel even better.

The quickened pace was a lot more enjoyable than the initial one for Cerise, and he seemed to be enjoying it more as well. She had loved the reaction she had gotten out of him earlier when she moved herself and wanted to experience that again. Cerise ended up wrapping her legs around him and moving her hips in rhythm with his. Moving against him felt even better, causing her to moan at the sensations. Cerise couldn't even believe that she was in pain there at first when now everything felt so amazing. _Fuck._ She was a quick study, and he was groaning her name, cursing inelegantly. "Fuck, Cerise." His hand that had been on her neck now buried in her hair, clenching in the silken locks.

That was exactly the reaction she had wanted from him, and Cerise couldn't help but to feel proud of herself. It took a great deal of self-control for Vanderwood not to pull her hair and assault her neck, instead going for a light tug that gave him more access there. Normally for Cerise, him tugging on her hair would have made her mad, but instead, it felt right in this situation. She ended up baring her neck for him more, his treatment of it only ended up heightening the pleasure she was feeling.

He wanted to mark her up, a little confused at himself because he'd never done something like that, but he settled for nipping and licking at her pulse, not wanting to cause her pain when she'd just started to feel good. Vanderwood again changed the pace, adjusting the angle as well, taking advantage of how she'd wrapped her legs around him to go deeper.

When he changed his pace again and even the angle, Cerise loudly cried out his name and her body arched against him on its own. Her hand automatically went to her mouth to cover up her sounds before she had to remind herself not to, biting the back of her hand before grabbing a hand full of the sheets beneath her. She hadn’t expected it to be this good.

Vanderwood felt like he was getting near that edge already. The way she'd cried out his name, it was almost enough to drive him over it, happy to see her removing her hand from her mouth just as quickly as she'd tried to muffle herself. He wanted to make sure that she came first, somehow managing to untangle his hand from her hair before moving his hand between them to find her clit, circling and rubbing, causing her to moan out as he nipped her neck.

Cerise felt like there was a heavy weight within her body, wound up tightly like something was trying to get loose. It was a sensation she didn't know how to explain; she just knew that she needed relief from it. She couldn't call it painful, it was torturous though, in a way. The feeling in her body felt like it was getting heavier, wound up more tightly. She wanted to speak, to tell him what was going on, because she wasn't sure if this feeling was normal, but all she could manage were moans and whines of pleasure.

His nips were getting a little harder, so he moved away from her neck, kissing her instead, raw hunger and need, but not for just anyone, just for her. She was his other half, it was just that simple. His body was clenching up tight, preparing for the climax he knew was coming. Cerise kissed him back with equal intensity, the best she knew how, before suddenly she had to tear herself away. The feeling she had building up inside her felt like it had suddenly and violently exploded, causing her to cry out and tightly cling to him as the feeling of intense euphoric pleasure swept through her body.

As she clung to him, he finally let go of the pressure that had built up in his own body, the dam breaking as his orgasm had him calling her name. It whipped through him harder than one ever had before, and it was hard to breathe in anything other than short gasps afterwards. Vanderwood leaned his forehead against hers as he tried to catch his breath. It seemed to Cerise that he was having just as tough of a time breathing normally as she was. She loved just being there with him, foreheads touching while they looked into each other's eyes, trying to catch their breath. So…that was sex.

They’d just had sex for the first time. Well, more like made love. The thought was so strange and yet so pleasant to Vanderwood. It was a while before he thought he could speak again, just looking into her eyes as he waited, stroking her hair gently. "Je' taime, Cerise." He kissed her gently and then nuzzled her nose for just a moment as she responded. “Je t’aime aussi, Marion.”

Vanderwood pulled away, discarding the condom before curling up next to her in the bed and pulling a blanket over the both of them as he nuzzled into her. He was only gone for a moment, but it still felt too long for Cerise, and she wasted no time before she was cuddling into him once he’d returned. There was really no reason to get dressed right now, so they could just enjoy this feeling for a little while longer.

He was still trying to wrap his mind around it. It wasn't a high so much, well it was, but it was mixed with his adoration of her, and it just felt right. "You feel okay?" Vanderwood gently took her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles as he checked up on her. Her response was almost instantaneous. "Better than okay...You okay?" Even after what they had just done, she still felt a blush creeping up on her when he took her hand to kiss it. How ridiculous was that? She could almost laugh at herself.

"I will always be okay, as long as I'm with you." Oh, good. He was back to being cheesy. His response made her smile and giggle a bit. Vanderwood just nuzzled the top of her head, pulling her as close as he could feasibly manage, and stroking her hair and back. "I don't think I've ever been so happy in my life." His heart felt so full, his chest so warm, and not just from the warmth of holding her against him. It felt so incredibly right, being with her like this.

"Me either...I'm happy I got to share this with you." Cerise felt like she was significantly weaker after their lovemaking session. She wasn't sure if that was normal or not but didn't ask about it as not to worry him. If anything, she’d just Noogle any questions she had about it later. "I think...I'm gonna nap right here." Cerise put an arm around him and cuddled into his chest like he was one of her pillows. She felt so incredibly happy, and it was like all was right in the world. Cerise hadn't known him long, but she was positive that this was the person meant for her. She already loved him so much.

His hand kept up its gentle stroking of her hair and back as she yawned and let her eyes droop, sleep claiming her quickly. Not for a single moment had he felt like his addiction was in charge of him. Cerise had given him a new lease on life, made him see the world wasn’t all bullshit and sadness. Vanderwood was well on his way to a happy life, one free from his addiction. For that, he would love this woman for eternity. He listened to her breathing for a while, feeling like there was nothing better in this world than having her in his arms, before he drifted off into his own sleep.

Check out my website. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	14. One More Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It won't be long before Vanderwood has to take off. They just have this one more day, not even, before he needs to leave, and they're both struggling to communicate after last night's events. Hopefully they'll be able to connect before he has to go.

***They...did the do, le gasp. I'm just digging how that ends up affecting the two of them after the fact. Heads up! I am dropping an unrelated Hidden Scene in which Cerise finds an otome game of her father and his band mate for some lulz. Find out about Hidden Scenes on my website, linked at the end of this chapter. ~Let's Connect! FFC***

There was a bird singing outside his window. Vanderwood grumbled at the sound, opening his eyes slowly. It was still pretty early in the morning. Cerise was warm against his chest, and he could feel her breathing softly against him. A smile spread across his face. This was maybe the first time in his life he was glad that he was such a light sleeper, so he could enjoy the sight of her just like this. His mind slipped to thoughts of last night, his face growing rather red as he felt a familiar little twitch. That was new, but she was naked in his arms after a night of lovemaking, so could anyone really blame him? Vanderwood moved away to brush his lips against her forehead, so he could get up to put on some pajama pants and start breakfast. Once he was done, he'd be able to get his revenge on the redhead, too.

She stirred after she felt him get up, taking a minute to actually open her eyes before sitting up slowly. Cerise realized that she was still _very_ naked and quickly pulled the blanket up to cover herself...Was that silly? It's not like he hadn't seen her...despite that, she kept a hold on it before greeting him, golden eyes finding him near his closet. "Good morning, mon amour~"

He was putting his pants on as she called out to him to say good morning. God that felt great, having her greet him in the morning. She grinned at him and then she noticed something that caused her to blush up to her ears. He was...he had...Oh God. _Cerise don't do it...please for the love of_..."....Vanderwoody." _WHY. ARE. YOU. LIKE. THIS?_

Vanderwood had noticed where her eyes had gone and the blush that had been creeping up her face causing him to more hastily pull up his pants before…Vanderwoody. How did she even know the term woody? She never knew innuendo. "I...Um...Good morning..." Good God, was he supposed to be able to talk? Because that just wasn't happening right now. Vanderwood was so red faced, getting his pants on as quickly as he could now, grabbing the little pile of clothes he'd made the night before and placing them in his laundry hamper. "I'll uh...just be making breakfast."

Cerise tried to refrain from laughing, but she just couldn't help it...he was so flustered and adorable. She watched as he retreated from the room, hopping off of the bed once he was out of sight. Her bag was near the bed, and she grabbed some clothes before heading to the bathroom. With him making breakfast, she should have enough time for a quick shower. His bathroom was as plain as his room, so everything was easy to find. She turned on the faucet to let the water heat up a bit before she hopped in and enjoyed the warm water running over her before she actually started to bathe.

Memories from the previous night flooded into her head, and she froze for a moment. They had really done that...and she had enjoyed it. Cerise couldn't keep herself from blushing as she scrubbed at her hair. How was she going to be able to look him in the eye or even function properly around him after that...? She hadn't been fully awake when she saw him before he left to make breakfast, so the gravity of it all hadn't hit her yet. Cerise sighed as she let the water finally rinse all the soap off before grabbing a towel and hopping back out.

As she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror she frowned. He had actually...liked her body? Compared to the others she had seen him interested in, she didn't exactly have much going on in the asset department. Was he really okay with that or...no. Don't go there, Cerise. He was getting better, and she shouldn't think like that. Cerise shook her head to get rid of the negative thoughts and began to towel dry her hair and put on her clothes.

Vanderwood was trying not to freak out in the other room. Holy, that was so incredibly embarrassing. Why was he so embarrassed? That was a perfectly normal body function, right? He wanted to bang his head into the wall, but he busied himself with breakfast instead. Once pancakes and eggs were laid out on the table, he made some coffee for Cerise as well, placing cream and sugar by her plate. It was just a case of him being too observant, but he remembered how she'd reacted that first time they'd eaten together at the hotel restaurant when her coffee had been black. Vanderwood was always remembering the little things like that.

Now that breakfast was done, though, it was time for some revenge. He ducked into his room to grab his taser from its holster before he braved giving Cerise a quick kiss, his face turning entirely red thinking about the situation earlier. "Breakfast is ready...mon amour." Now that he was certain he knew what the words meant, he attempted using them, hoping his pronunciation was right.

She had just finished brushing her hair when he’d appeared in his room again, and she’d automatically averted her eyes, so she didn't really see the kiss coming as quick as it was. Her face flooded with red, and God help her, he was using that name and it sounded so sexy coming from him. Hormones. These were hormones. New experiences…

Vanderwood wasn’t sure why, but she seemed to be completely on a shut-down. Was it earlier? He felt so incredibly awkward as he left the room, with her following him out not far behind. Cerise thought she was moving a little robotically too as he walked her out of the room and into the main part of the house. No doubt, Cerise was wary of even leaving his room after the shenanigans the previous night, but the fact that he was right there and all she could think about was _the night_ before and how amazing he looked and sounded, and oh God, how awful she was for spazzing over it. She sat down at the table and looked down, surprised that he could actually cook, and it looked amazing to boot.

He shifted awkwardly on his feet, fiddling with his taser. She seemed impressed or shocked by the food set out in front of her, and for whatever reason, that made him feel a little anxious to hear what she thought, but he had something to take care of first. “I’ll uh…be right back…” Cerise nodded as he took off down a hallway, guessing that he was going to wake up that weird guy who called himself Seven. She was beyond delighted to see a cup of coffee set out for her along with cream and sugar. Coffee could help her get her mind off of it. Coffee wouldn't judge her or do her wrong. Coffee was her friend. Cerise set up her coffee the way she liked it taking a sip, and then she was in heaven.

Vanderwood was struggling with himself. It was difficult really, not thinking about last night and this morning, how he wanted her and the way she looked naked. He internally slapped himself. That was probably why she was acting so awkward, because she was picking up on his awkward behavior. Vanderwood pushed Seven's door open slowly, not caring too much for the noise it made, as the redhead was generally a pretty hard sleeper, since he never slept until he collapsed.

Seven was delightfully coverless, and shirtless, which meant Vanderwood could put the taser right onto the guy's lower back, and he did, turning it on and watching as Seven yelped in pain and surprise as the shock went through him. "That was for making my girlfriend cry. Breakfast is on the table." He wasn’t about to wait around for a reply. Before Seven could start complaining too much, Vanderwood was already back in the living room, taking his seat next to Cerise. "Now that's taken care of."

Whatever blend her boyfriend had used was delightful, and she had been happily drinking her coffee when he appeared again, but she almost choked when he sat beside her, hyper aware of his presence, evident by the blush on her face. The coffee had betrayed her. She couldn’t even forget her hormones in its sweet and warm embrace…Probably because she would rather be in his embrace. **Cerise that is not helping. WHY**.

Cerise was so stiff that Vanderwood was starting to feel nervous. God, did she regret what they'd done last night? His mind slipped to thoughts of their night together, her sounds, the way she'd responded to him, that was a bit dangerous, as he adjusted himself in his seat and tried not to get another...Vanderwoody as she'd so lovingly put it. No, there was no way she regretted it right? Vanderwood slipped his hand to the nape of her neck, rubbing there as he leaned over to attempt to catch her gaze. "You okay, shortcake?"

Cerise's skin jumped under his touch before she relaxed, but she was still rather tense. Her face turned completely red when their eyes met, and she averted them again after a few seconds. "I uhh...y-yeah. I'm great. So great. Thanks for asking. How are you? Did you sleep well? Are you okay? The weather's nice, isn't it?" Vanderwood didn't even attempt to answer all of her questions. He simply couldn't keep up with her rambling. Was she...embarrassed? That made him chuckle a little. Cerise was so damn precious. Later, when they were alone, maybe they'd talk about it, but obviously with Seven around, it wasn't the time.

Seven eyed the two with a bit of a sour look as he entered the room, but it turned to a smile pretty quickly, even though he was sporting a little burn from Vanderwood's taser on his lower back now. The redhead went to grab a bag of honey buddha chips, but quickly realized that if the big guy was already tasing this early in the morning, he'd better eat what he'd made so as to avoid another shock. He sulked at his spot on the table before deciding to look through his phone as he ate. What was this? Oh right, his file on the girl, Cerise...There were some pretty good video clips in there...Maybe he could get his own revenge on Vanderwood without ending up tased again.

Cerise laughed nervously as Seven sat down. This would at least be a good way to change the subject. "O-oh, good morning! It's a good morning, isn't it? Breakfast looks good. Do you drink coffee? You should drink coffee. It's great. So great." Yep. She had officially lost it, they both probably thought she was insane at this point, but she just could not stop the word vomit. Cerise made a small noise and tilted her head so that way her hair hid her face again. How could a person forget how to act like a normal human being?

Seven just started to laugh, his mouth full of food. "Your girlfriend sure is talkative this morning." He wiggled his eyebrows at them, earning a glare from Vanderwood. "Close your mouth when you chew." The redhead was unperturbed. He'd found the video clip he was looking for and scooted over closer to Vanderwood and his little lady love. "She doesn't seem like the embarrassed type from this video." Seven reached over and hit play, making sure they could both see the screen.

Cerise kept her head down and began working on her breakfast. The video would just have to wait. It was tasty enough to help her mind make sense of itself. She didn't think she'd ever had pancakes that good, and the eggs were amazing too...Cerise now looked up to compliment him on the breakfast but Seven seemed to have actually gotten Marion’s full attention..."Video...?" She didn't need to see what they were talking about to know...Cerise knew exactly what Seven had found. It's not like it was a secret or anything...considering the video had been circulating on the Internet for a while now. It was essentially what made her popularity rise. Still, for them to find it while she was there made her sink down into her seat a bit. The video didn't embarrass her in the least...she was proud of her skills...but she just wished they had found it literally any other time when her brain wasn't mush.

Vanderwood at first had leaned away from the redhead, but then he saw Cerise on the screen and his eyes were riveted to it. Holy shit...She was a pretty damn good dancer. Seven chuckled, Vanderwood's mouth was agape. Her comment didn’t even register, because he was just staring. "Isn't she just absolutely precious? Think she'd give you a private show?"

Now Vanderwood's eyebrow twitched, and he tilted his head at Seven threateningly. "How about you go be stupid somewhere else very far away from me?" There was something dark in his tone, a result of his anger at the thought of Seven thinking of Cerise like that. The redhead's revenge had failed simply because he couldn't keep his mouth shut. "If you're here talking, you're not at your computer working. So get there." Vanderwood didn't have to repeat himself. Seven grabbed his plate of pancakes and was off to work. That look in Vanderwood's eyes was Hella deadly. Note to self, seriously stop messing with his girlfriend.

Cerise had stayed silent as they went back and forth until the red headed man finally disappeared. She glanced at Marion before quietly busying herself with her cup of coffee. Well...That had pretty much made Vanderwood's mind up that he needed to get himself some social media accounts. She still seemed to be a little off. He wasn't used to this whole relationship thing, but he knew he should probably do _something_. Vanderwood bit his tongue trying to come up with anything to say. "How's breakfast?" Oh, small talk, yeah...That's what she needed, sure. Her eyes found him again. "Breakfast is amazing, thanks..."

He was hopeless, so he started to fiddle with his phone, downloading a couple of the apps he'd seen on hers when he'd removed all of her geotags. Cerise raised an eyebrow at him. She couldn't see what he was doing, but she had never really seen him use his phone for anything other than the occasional text or call. "You're really a great dancer..." Yeah maybe that was more embarrassing...Vanderwood felt lost. Cerise just went red in the face again. "Thanks...I umm...used to sneak out a lot. Dance clubs...a friend decided to video tape me one day, and she put it on the Internet. It got popular, and boy, my parents were not happy. "

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Sneak out?" Cerise tried to give a little shrug, at least she could manage this conversation without feeling like she was drowning in blush. "Yeah...my friends were a good influence. " Vanderwood wasn't sure if he found that endearing or if he was absolutely terrified at the idea of her sneaking out as a teenager. Was he just old or overprotective? "I can imagine your parents were pissed..." He really could only imagine. "My parents never gave a shit what I did."

With a small sigh, she took a sip of her coffee. She guessed at least her parents cared enough to actually lecture her and make sure she was safe. Really, she couldn't imagine parents who didn't care. Cerise gave him a sympathetic look and squeezed his arm beside her. He was still messing around with his phone....What for though?

Fakebook and Instafram was what he'd decided to get for now, and they'd both downloaded, so he started on the profile. Why did they need all this information? Jesus...Seven was one Hell of an idiot for having these accounts all this time, but now he was no better...All because he wanted to look at his girlfriend's pictures and videos. He found her accounts and hit the follow and friend buttons. "I um...sent you a friend request." Now he was the one blushing. He'd set his profile picture to the one of him snuggling into her hair. That was such a couple-y thing to do, he thought? At any rate it seemed right to him.

Her questions had been answered once he mentioned that he sent her a friend request. Cerise grinned and checked her phone, finding that he really had....and the picture he had used made her heart melt. She accepted the request. Now she could actually tag him in everything! It was exciting, and she couldn't wait for him to finally experience the joys of social media. Cerise glanced back at him. He seemed....tense? She couldn't blame him, she was too but for probably different reasons entirely.

Vanderwood tucked his phone back into his pocket before he turned to her again, a deep breath he didn't realize he'd been holding escaping him. "Are you really okay...after...last night I mean? It's um, it's okay if you don't want to...um..." What was he even trying to say? "I love you, Cerise...I just want to be sure you're okay with what happened..."

Cerise stiffened and put her coffee down to look at him. "I'm okay...I'm just...I keep thinking about it." She admitted with her face turning red again. "I love you too, and I don't regret it--what we did. I uhh...I'm not used to..." How could she even say it? Cerise took a deep breath and went to her phone, finding his contact information and sending him a text.

There was a rush of relief as she said she didn't regret it, although he couldn't fathom what was making her tense. Then she was messing on her phone, avoiding him again? `that feeling frm last night keeps coming back when ur around me` Cerise figured that if she couldn't say it to his face, she could text it. Hopefully that would help.

His phone pinged, and he checked his texts. "Oh..." Vanderwood's face turned bright red. Okay...so, if it was easier for her to talk to him about it over text, he would respond the same way. `I keep thinking about it too. That's normal when you really care about someone.` That sounded about right. He didn't know a whole lot about love, little to none really, but as far as he did know, being with someone you loved made the experience completely different, something to be treasured. At least that's how he felt about it. Vanderwood bit at his tongue before he sent her another text. He would have gladly spoken these words aloud, but maybe it would be nice for her to see them too. `You're the only woman I've ever felt this way about.`

She read over his texts and smiled. At least she was normal...and his last text made her heart feel like skipping a beat. It was much easier to talk that way, at least for the moment and especially when just looking at him sent her brain into meltdown. `I'm glad. I'm sorry it's hard 4 me rn...ur just >///< n I'm... I've never had these feelings b4 u n now I'm a wreck n it's sooo weird admitting this sort of thing.` Was it weird to talk to him through text when he was sitting right there? Or that she was having some major hormonal issues at the moment? Probably. Cerise hit send and glanced at him from the corner of her eye as she took another bite of her breakfast.

It took him a moment to decipher her message. He wasn't used to text speak, no matter how much Seven used it to confuse him. Once he understood, his blush wasn't going down, in fact maybe he was starting to have his own issues. Vanderwood coughed before biting his tongue, trying to get words to work right in his brain so he could answer her. It was a little strange talking to her through text when she was sitting right there, but maybe it was the best thing, because there was no way his tongue could work properly at the moment if he was already struggling with his head. `It's alright. It's hard for me too.` Quickly following that text because he realized how that sounded. `Not like that. Well...This morning like that, but you get the idea.` Wow, he could even manage to be a complete idiot over text. Congratulations, man.

Cerise was about to respond when another text came through and her face flushed more. Her thought process hadn't even gone there until he decided he needed to elaborate. `omg well at least it's good 2 kno that I'm not weird...lol I <3 u n thx 4 breakfast` Even though she was still a blushing lunatic, Cerise held up her phone and took a selfie as she blew a kiss into her camera and then immediately sent it to him. It was strange considering he was next to her and literally saw her do it, but she felt like she needed to. She put her phone back down on the table and attempted to finish what remained if her breakfast and coffee.

She was so incredibly adorable. He kind of wanted to send a selfie back, which was weird, because he'd never done that type of thing before. Vanderwood worked on his breakfast for a while right along with her, although his thoughts even more so now kept slipping to last night and the fact that she was thinking about it too. She was even apparently reacting to him _right now_. Jesus, he shouldn't be thinking about it, really. Well, there was really no helping it.

He almost turned to his phone when he was done to ask her if she wanted to go back to the room but realized he didn't need it and could just open his mouth. "Shortcake...do you want to go to my room for a bit? Seven's probably gonna want to leave for this mission thing soon, and we can talk about it in there." He was going to need to lay just a couple of ground rules while he was gone, that was the only reason that he would really tell her more than just how long he would be gone and when he'd be checking in, right? No...he was just going to tell her everything, because he was a besotted idiot. Well...it really wouldn't hurt anything for her to know anyway.

"Mission thing? You're leaving?" That was probably the reason they had been talking the previous day...Cerise didn't really like the fact that he'd be leaving to do something potentially dangerous, especially since she saw how often he tended to get hurt. "Just for a little while." He got up to grab the plates and various items and put them where they belonged. The redhead wasn't going to remember to put his plate away later so he'd have to deal with that before he left too. Fucking slob.

She finished her cup of coffee and clutched her phone. "Yeah...we can talk about it there. " Cerise frowned. She didn't want him to leave at all. At this point, she was so used to having him around and being able to talk to him when she needed to and generally being there with him wherever he went. _God I'm clingy_...

Vanderwood bit his tongue and reached down to hold Cerise's hand on the way back to his bedroom, blushing a bit as he did so. It just felt so nice to hold her hand. He'd never really thought of himself as someone who craved physical attention, since he never let anyone touch him, but Cerise was totally different. Once they were back in the room, he laid down on his bed and motioned for her to do the same.

Cerise had squeezed his hand when he led her back to his room, more to comfort herself than anything. Now he was motioning for her to lay with him…She tried not to think of what they’d done there last night, laying on her side, so she could properly hold a conversation with him instead of feeling like she was talking to a wall or ceiling. "So...mission."

Vanderwood rolled over to take her hand again, it was easier to look her in the eyes this way anyway. Although he couldn't help but think about last night, particularly now they were in his bed, which was real great of him. What a lovely one-track mind. He bit his tongue to get back his focus. "Yeah...It's our own so we're not on a deadline. Seven needs to find his twin brother before we can leave the agency, something about protecting him from the whole reason he entered the agency in the first place."

His heart twinged just a little bit at the thought of Seven having had an estranged brother this entire time. He would have done anything to be able to be with his brother, which obviously would never happen. "I'll be gone two days, and I'll check in every twelve hours on the hour. A little extra here and there when I can manage it. If I'm gone longer than that...I'll find my way back to you, I promise. I don't plan on dying or getting hurt." The latter probably would happen, but he didn't want to worry her too much.

He’d already come up with his plans for how to get in contact with her and check in, even though he shouldn’t do that at all. Honestly having her around, he didn't want to go anywhere without her, but there was no way she was coming along for this. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed each individual finger. "I'll always find my way home to you." Cheesy, but true. Wherever Cerise was felt like home now.

Two days was not just a little while. That was forty-eight whole hours...more if something went wrong. She felt for Seven having a brother he needed to rescue, and it sounded like he really needed Marion on his side to do it...otherwise she would have argued against it. Cerise really wanted to be understanding of him whether it was his job or his vices, but it didn't mean that she didn't worry. "If you don't come back...I will absolutely never forgive you. " Marion had better make good on that promise because she couldn't imagine losing him, especially this soon. Cerise scooted closer to him and nuzzled into his shoulder. "I love you, Marion. You better come back."

She had him snorting softly as he nuzzled into her hair. "Of course, I'll come back. I have someone to live for now." He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head before he moved back to kiss her lips, feeling like he needed to. His hand slid into her hair, wanting to keep her close even as he broke the kiss. Cerise was his everything, and maybe he was getting a little carried away, but he couldn't imagine losing her. He'd be more lost than he'd ever been. "Je'taime aussi, Cerise."

She smiled when he answered her in French. He was amazing in his pronunciation, so amazing that maybe teaching him would be an easy feat...In turn, he could maybe help her become more fluent in English. Now it was her turn to slide a hand into his hair; it was her favorite spot. Cerise was glad to spend this time with him and kissed him back affectionately, more so now that she knew he was going to be gone for a few days. It still bothered her, but he had to do what he had to do.

Her emotions were still building up to a breaking point, though. She almost wanted to cry, but she would not be a little bitch in front of him right now. Cerise wanted to show him that she could be strong...except whoops she was crying a little anyways. Fail.

Was she crying? Vanderwood broke the kiss to kiss her tears away instead. His heart ached a little at the thought that this was his fault. She didn't want to be away from him anymore than he wanted to be away from her. He held her even tighter. Cerise found comfort in his embrace, and she felt like she didn't want to ever be away from it...more clingy thoughts, but she just couldn't help it. At least he had stopped her tears, and Cerise thought that maybe he was better at this than he realized.

Vanderwood loved holding her like this, her hand in his hair, the two of them cuddled up together, and he certainly didn’t want to be away from her any time soon. Still, he had a feeling he would get carried away if he didn't pull away from her, his imagination both a blessing and a curse. He gave her a quick soft kiss before trying to explain to her and failing miserably. "I uh...if I don't...unless you want to..."

Cerise was giving him a puzzled look at his attempt to talk, and he was turning redder than an overcooked lobster. Why? Why couldn't he be direct with her like he was with every other human on the planet? It wasn’t about the addiction, it was more…he was realizing even more so how much he appreciated her and wanted that intimacy all the more knowing that he would be gone and the danger he would be in. His face was so red from embarrassment, he would be surprised if she didn't just outright laugh at him. "I um...do you want to have sex?" That wasn't how he'd meant to say it either. He hadn't meant to ask! Damn, he was useless. "I mean I need to pull away or I'll want to..."

Oh. So that was why. She had been watching his attempts to talk with furrowed brows, but not it all made sense. Cerise found herself turning equally red then. Hadn't they just...and he wanted to...again? They hadn't even had time to talk about the sheets yet. Asking her had made her become extremely hyperaware of him again. "I..." Cerise looked up to him, catching his gaze with hers, blushing up to her ears. "I do. Want to...want you..."

Okay, deep breaths. Her response was equally disjointed, and she was blushing like crazy too, so at least they were both acting like fumbling teenagers. Vanderwood bit his tongue, trying to get himself a little under control. "Okay..." He stroked his fingers along her cheek and down over her neck as he gave her a soft kiss. "Okay." she repeated. At least he was as flustered as she was...and it wasn't like they hadn't done the same thing the night before. "Okay." If she wanted to, he didn't have to be as worried, so he let that go, sliding his hand along her shoulder now and down her back as he teased her lower lip with his tongue.

Just his simple touches now were making her body react in ways that were beyond her control which both liked and hated it all at once. Cerise let her hands rest on his chest, it was still weird trying to figure out what exactly she should be doing with them. She knew what he wanted when he teased her lip again with his tongue, it was one of the first things he had taught her. Cerise parted her lips to give him access if he wanted it as she let one hand slide up from his chest to his face, letting her thumb softly caress his cheek.

Vanderwood pressed his hand against the small of her back, pulling her as close to him as he could manage. She didn't seem to know what to do with her hands, even though no matter where she touched him he wasn't complaining. Maybe he should tell her that? He teased and played with her tongue, enjoying the way she could do it back now that she'd gotten more comfortable with it.

 That's when he heard a knock on his door and then it opening. Did the redhead have a death-wish? Vanderwood's eyes were dark as he glared over at Seven who had started to talk. "We should really get g-" He was cut off by Vanderwood throwing his now ruined Arabic dictionary at him from the nightstand. The redhead managed to close the door in time not to get hit, by some miracle. Okay, make a note, do not enter before given permission. Cerise felt like she would die once the door had opened, but luckily Vanderwood remedied that issue quickly.  Seven seemed to be nice enough of a guy he just seemed to have a penchant for getting on Vanderwood's nerves. Cerise could almost laugh at herself, seeing as sometimes she wasn’t any better...

Vanderwood bit his tongue and looked back to Cerise sheepishly. "Sorry, mon amour..." He nuzzled her gently before mumbling softly the thought he’d had earlier. "You know you can touch me anywhere..." His face was on fire again thanks to that, glorious. She nuzzled him back and smiled, glad that that was over with. There were worse times he could have interrupted, at least. "Oh~? Where would you like for me to touch you, ma moitié?" _Whoa, Cerise. Not here. Not now. Why. Notnownotnownotnownotnow._ Her face was about ten shades redder than it had previously been. She had now achieved ultimate redness.

He had no idea what the French phrase she’d used meant but he was as red as she was. That was forward, and he was totally unprepared. "I...uh...everywhere?" That was stupid but true. Still, he could be clearer. Vanderwood took her hands and laid them on his shoulders. "Just...start here and...explore..." Really this was entirely new to both of them. The few times she had touched him before were enough to tell him that no matter what she did, he would turn to putty, but he had yet to give her time for a full exploration. It was unfamiliar for him to be touched _anywhere_ let alone _everywhere._

It looked to Cerise like he was a little thrown off, but he was still trying to work with her. At least he had a little patience when it came to her random unfiltered outbursts. Still sporting a blush that would make a tomato jealous, she’d let him lay her hands on his shoulders. She hovered there for a second and then trailed her hands down his arms and then back up. "Like that?" Vanderwood tried to focus on breathing. Cerise had touched him last night, but somehow, it was just as good or better this time. Her fingers left little goosebumps where she touched, and he closed his eyes just to focus on what she was doing, enjoying it even more than he'd expected.

"Yeah...like that." How could even the tiniest of touches send his heart into overdrive? It was a miracle to him that his heart was even working anymore. She then trailed her hands down his torso from his shoulders, stopping to explore his collar bone, then his chest, and down to his abdomen. Cerise spent time running her fingers down his side and to his back, tracing little words of endearment along the way. The way her fingers were starting to leave a burning trail had Vanderwood biting his tongue and then she’d kissed him so he couldn't do that anymore. That was when she started to kiss along his chin and neck and his breath hitched so hard Vanderwood honestly thought he would stop breathing. His hand slipped back into her hair, wrapping some of it around his hand to bunch there like that.

Cerise started to give him a similar treatment to what he had done for her before, guessing that since she had liked it he would too, placing soft kisses before she was brave enough to nip and lick at his neck a bit...which reminded her. She trailed kisses down to his shoulder before she bit down. Hard. Vanderwood was lost in the enjoyment. Her lips were leaving an even hotter trail and then...a low grunt escaped him at the pain of her bite, but it also felt...good...which was a new way for pain to feel.

"That was for biting me yesterday, you jerk." Her voice didn't hold any malice, it was actually relatively playful. Cerise knew that he hadn't done it to be mean, more to tease her. She was just giving him payback. Vanderwood had snorted softly, aware that Cerise was teasing him, making a smile break out across his face. "You sure you weren't just laying claim to your territory?" Of course, it wouldn't faze him much. He was even smiling at her...how rude. His next words had her a little more flustered. Laying claim to her territory? Why did that have to sound so appealing? She stared at him a little wide eyed, and she didn't have a chance to respond before he moved to kiss her again.

He’d put his hand on the side of her neck to keep her where she was, kissing her deeply. She felt like when he kissed her like that, it was enough to infiltrate her very soul. Cerise noticed when he pulled away from the kiss that he was mimicking what she had just done, moving down along her jaw and neck, did that mean he was going to...it seemed like it, and she was somewhat nervous, although what he was doing was making it hard to remain tense because of the heat building in her body.

He teased in the crook of her shoulder with his tongue before lightly grazing his teeth over the matching spot to where she had bitten him, feeling the desire to leave his own mark. Should he indulge himself? "What if I want to leave my mark too? So the whole world knows you're taken." At least he hadn't done it without warning. As much as she hated pain, for some reason the thought of him marking her made her feel a bit excited. "What a wonderful aesthetic that would be..." Cerise teased lightly and reached to move her hair out of the way, pulling it over her other shoulder. She wouldn't be surprised if even he could hear her heart racing at this point.

She had again braced herself for the pain that she knew was coming, holding on to him as he pulled her closer before actually biting down. Vanderwood grazed his teeth over the spot once more, twice, giving her a little time to process what was coming before he held her to him, biting down, sucking so he didn't have to bite nearly as hard. That possessive streak of his seemed to be purring with satisfaction at what he was doing, which was something he'd never done either. Everything with Cerise was a new experience. Cerise let out a soft cry but was surprised to find that it hurt in a much different way than she was used to. It was almost...pleasurable? Yeah...she was officially weird.

He pressed a gentle kiss to the mark, admiring it before he pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and kissed her again. Vanderwood was hopelessly addicted to her lips, hopelessly lost in their love, and he poured those feelings into that kiss as his hands drifted to the hem of her top. His kiss held both the hunger of his possession and his raw love for this woman who could make even the darkest of times feel like the world was a beautiful place, something he never thought it was before.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her again, somehow that kiss felt so much more passionate and intense than any other he had given her. Was it her imagination? It was almost like he was wordlessly speaking to her, she wanted to respond to him, tell him how she felt through this connection. As soon as she realized where his hands where, she made quick work of her top and tossed it aside before she had her lips back on his. Cerise poured all of her spoken and unspoken feelings into her own kiss, letting her instinct tell her what to do.

The way she was kissing him now took his breath away. Was she doing the same as he had? It was like she was telling him too just how much she loved and cared for him. His fingers trailed along her sides, up her back, finding her bra and pausing slightly. Vanderwood broke the kiss, locking his brown eyes with her honey gold. "Je'taime mon amour...You're my other half." It had felt right to say, even if he wasn't used to sharing his feelings with anyone; it had just felt right.

He'd wanted to say it before he went any farther, wanted her to know it wasn't just something he was saying because he was on some high. Something in him had clicked and he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her; he wanted to marry her. This wasn't the time to make decisions like that, but he knew he was serious. Later...he would deal with that later when he came back, so he could tell her properly.

Cerise had stopped and took a moment to look into his eyes. How did he...she didn't think that he understood much French. Where had he learned that? "Je'taime aussi..." she replied in a voice barely above a whisper. Cerise was searching his eyes a bit with her own for a moment before she spoke again. "Marion...how did you know what I said...?" It probably wasn't the time to be asking and ruining the moment, but it had caught her off guard so much that it had just tumbled out.

"What?" He furrowed his brows. What she'd said...? Oh...earlier...The French term he hadn’t understood. "Is...is that what you said earlier?" She...felt the same way. Something was most definitely wrong with his heart...or really _really_ right with it. Vanderwood felt something he could only describe as utter joy. He kissed her again and again, little short kisses before he peppered her face with them.

She tried to process what had just happened as he reacted. He hadn't known? Vanderwood unknowingly said the same thing to her? Cerise felt her heart swell and a broad smile overtook her face as he peppered her face with small kisses. It was a warm feeling seeing him like this, so different than when she had first met him. It wasn't so long ago but he’d seemed a little...dark, apathetic? She knew better now. Cerise knew him better now.

If he could have remembered what the French word she’d used earlier sounded like, he would have repeated it to her over and over as well, but instead he just kept saying, "Je'taime" and he did, he really did. This was most definitely one of the happiest moments of his life. He nibbled at her lip and her chin, going to kiss her neck and then the mark her had left earlier. Could life be any more perfect?

Cerise couldn't stop smiling and just held onto him, holding him as close as she could while he went to kiss her neck and shoulder. Nuzzling into him and feeling his warmth felt like the most right thing in the world. This was where she was supposed to be. She didn't even want to think about the fact that she'd have to be a few days without him.

Vanderwood couldn't help the way he was feeling, and he wouldn't have wanted to if he could. His hands were trailing along her body again, tugging her skirt away with just enough of a pause to make sure she was okay with that. It was enough to turn her body into a furnace, it felt like. She could feel the need that she had for him weighing on her now.

For Vanderwood, it almost felt like an epiphany. Right now, he wanted that closeness. He had wanted her earlier too, but it was just an even different kind of want now. Sex wasn't just sex anymore. There was no denying that the hormones he'd always had were there. but it was something else now. too. Vanderwood ran a hand along her leg as the other once more found the clasp of her bra at her back. "You...still want this, right?" He wanted to make love to her and get as close as he could get to her, but Jesus, he needed to make sure she was on the same wavelength. It was the one thing he’d always at least prided himself on…consent.

Cerise let out a small laugh and kissed his cheek affectionately before she moved her lips to his ear, talking softly. "I want everything~" She didn't have to scold herself for once. Those were words she had definitely meant to say, as forward as she felt they were for her. Vanderwood tensed, although not unpleasantly. Holy God, that had his body reacting, muscles clenching in anticipation rather than frustration. He nuzzled into the side of her face, nipping at her earlobe gently. "I'll give you my everything." Shivers made their way down her body when he nipped at her earlobe and with those words... Cerise felt that somehow his attention to her felt even better now than it had last night.

His fingers expertly unclasped her bra, removing it and tossing it to the side. Just like last night, the sight of her topless was absolutely breathtaking to him. Vanderwood kissed her shoulder again before trailing kisses down, teeth grazing lightly over her nipple before he teased at her with his tongue, wanting to hear her moan like she had for him last night. He rubbed her other breast, teasing over the nipple there with his thumb, not wanting to leave it ignored.

She couldn't help but to lean into him slightly as he teased at and rubbed her breasts. Cerise had wanted to be quiet, since she knew another person was around somewhere in the house, and she wasn't sure how exactly soundproof the walls were, but that just wasn't happening apparently. It was like her body always had other plans for her while she was around him, and she ended up moaning louder than she would have liked. She put her hand over his, putting on a little more pressure to show him what she was comfortable with and what felt good for her.

From anyone else, he would have found the direct way she was showing him what she wanted irritating, but from her he was actually glad. Vanderwood wanted to please her. It was a total shift in mindset, one that he couldn’t help but to appreciate from himself. The more sounds she made the more he liked it, not even caring about Seven. The kid would have put his noise cancelling headphones on by now anyway. He pressed a gentle kiss to her hand on his, following her lead and letting her show him before he lightly nipped her knuckle and moved her hand away, so he could switch sides, showing her with his hand on the other side now that he'd been paying attention.

 She bit her lip, still attempting not to make way too much noise as he switched sides. Despite her best efforts, some sounds still escaped. Cerise knew that he liked to hear her, but she didn't want to disturb the other resident of the house too much...especially with something like this. She was delighted to see that he had actually paid attention when she had shown him something she thought might feel good, and it was even better without her assisting him.

Vanderwood pulled away to move lower, kissing her wound gently, causing Cerise to jump a bit. She was still really careful about it, because it was tender sometimes. He just moved on, after making eye contact, hooking his fingers into her panties and tugging the fabric away, taking a moment to just appreciate the view. She felt a bit exposed now that her panties were tugged away, and she fought every urge to cover herself up despite having done this the previous night. He'd seen her before...he loved her. She told herself she was okay as she took a deep breath and ran her hand through his hair affectionately.

He mulled over his options here, where he could go next, and he was more than ready to just take her…but with the way she still seemed apprehensive, he’d rather show her even further just how beautiful this intimacy was. He’d only recently discovered the beauty of it himself and wanted to share it with her. If she wanted everything..."Ready to try something new?" _Something new?_ She only knew the basics of how sex worked, and she could have sworn they had covered all the bases...What else even was there? No matter, she trusted him in whatever it was that he wanted to show her. "I'm ready..." she answered, as she watched him curiously, wondering what else they would do.

He moved down her body and kissed her thigh softly. Her discomfort was probably a combination of being new to this, some insecurities still maybe, and the way she was being quiet, worrying about Seven. Those were all guesses, but he was pretty perceptive, and it would be better not to talk about it right now. Vanderwood certainly didn't want to bring up the redhead, so he'd just have to get the sounds out of her by making her feel too good to remember. His hands slid along her thighs before he pushed her legs further apart, moving down to give her a teasing lick, pausing for her first reaction to this new sensation. She tasted even better like this than from his fingers, that was for sure. "Feel good, mon amour?"

Her eyes widened and her face flushed something awful. Had he just... It undoubtedly felt good, she was just surprised. Cerise had to figure out how to make words work again. Word, words, words...She ended up muttering something in French. _Wait, no._ Cerise shook her head. Wrong words. _Focus_. She didn't want to ruin it by voicing her surprise at it, though he could probably figure as much from her face..."Y-yeah...feels great." She felt like she might have been blushing harder. Her face felt like it was heating up more, anyways. Was that even a possibility?

Vanderwood chuckled a little. She was surprised, and that he had expected, but not the mumbling in French. Even during sex, he couldn't help but find her adorable, beautiful and sexy, but adorable nonetheless. "I'm glad...I'll just give you more then." He made good on his statement, going slowly once more before he let his tongue explore.

This wasn't entirely new to him, he'd done it maybe three or four times simply for the satisfaction of knowing he was good at it, but that had been irritating otherwise, making him obsessively wash himself off afterwards. This he was actually enjoying fully without the skin-crawling feeling. Her taste filled his mouth, and he wanted to memorize it. Vanderwood felt his erection throb but ignored it, wanting to take her closer to the edge before he did anything.

Cerise had put her forearm to her mouth, biting down on it to muffle herself. The entire concept was so strange to her, but it felt so amazing. She just had to ignore the fact that he was so close to her. Cerise lost her train of thought and loudly cried out when his tongue found her sensitive bud, teasing there and then sucking on her. So much for muffling herself. At that point, she figured even the Gods themselves could have heard that. The hand that she had been using to stroke his hair was now bunched up in it as he teased at her.

That cry and her hand in his hair, it had him impatient. He needed some sort of relief, even if he wasn't done with her quite yet. Vanderwood pulled his pajama pants off and tossed them off the bed. Cerise wondered for a moment why he was stopping but didn’t complain as he got naked. Vanderwood simply returned to his place between her legs like he'd never left, tongue swirling over her clit.

He had one hand on her thigh, tracing little designs and stroking himself with the other, moaning softly against her. It served to make him want her more, but at least now he wasn't in nearly as much pain. His treatment of her had Cerise arching a bit and curling her toes as she moaned out his name in complete ecstasy. Cerise had forgotten that she was supposed to try and be quiet. The sight he was giving her paired with his soft moans and his tongue teasing at her most sensitive area...she was sure that she was wound up tightly enough to break soon.

Cerise was feeling again like she had the previous night except it didn't alarm her this time. She knew what the end result would be, and it made her want it even more. He pulled away from her before she could experience that feeling again, causing her to whine against him softly as he went up to kiss her. She could taste herself on him, and as strange as that sounded and felt to her, it made her desire for him grow deeper. It was still such a foreign feeling, and it felt so intense for her.

Now, he mumbled against her lips, positioning himself to thrust inside her, but wanting to tell her first. It felt like he just couldn’t wait, but he forced himself to, because this was so much more important. "You're my everything, Cerise." It was difficult to talk with as breathless as she felt, with as mesmerizing as his voice was when it dipped so low like this, but somehow, she managed. "...and you're mine, Marion. I love you, ma moitié." She gave him a kiss of her own and then nuzzled him affectionately. Cerise didn't know she could feel that strongly about a person, but here she was. With everything in her, she loved and adored this man to her very core.

"Ma moitié." He repeated it to her, running a hand through her hair before deciding that now was as good a time as any to give them both some relief. _That_ was when he realized something was missing, reaching for it quickly and biting his tongue. Well, that was something he’d never nearly done. After…he’d deal with that after, because right now they both needed each other desperately. He slipped on the condom and pressed himself against her entrance.

Cerise moved her hips to let him know that she was ready, moaning at the sensation of being filled by him. Vanderwood wasn't as slow as yesterday, although he did give her some time to adjust, moaning against her lips before he found a steady pace. She was expecting it to hurt again, but the pain hadn't come the second time, and she was able to adjust to him much more quickly.

They were as close as they could get, and yet, he felt like he could never get enough of her. She was his, and he was hers. Nothing and no one would take that away from him. It was still so amazing to him the way she made him feel. Vanderwood craved her hands on him, kissing along her neck to that mark on her shoulder. "Touch me..." It didn't come out like a command, more like pleading, but it didn't upset him, how helpless he felt for her. Normally, helplessness made him need to clean or control every tiny detail of his life, but this wasn’t that kind of lost confusion and pain, it felt good to want her, need her.

He didn't have to tell her twice; her hands were on him and roaming his body as soon as he had uttered the words. She moved so that she had access to his neck, not an easy feat considering their size difference, but she was athletic enough to manage it, placing hot kisses there as her hands found their way to his back, tracing along his skin like she was trying to memorize every inch with her fingertips. Cerise started to let her nails drag along lightly over his skin, liking the way it felt on her fingers, just a little more resistance that way.

Vanderwood closed his eyes, focusing on the sensations she was giving him. When she dragged her nails lightly over his skin, he couldn’t help but to curse. "Oh, fuck." His hand bunched in her hair as he changed angles for her, knowing he could find and hit a spot that would make her feel even better. Hearing him curse made her feel a little smug, taking it as a sign that she was on the right track before she clung to him tightly with the change in angles.

She was sure that her nails were digging into him accidentally, but the feeling she was experiencing was almost too overwhelming for her. He had her gasping his name and crying out much more frequently. Vanderwood didn’t even mind that her nails were digging into him slightly, in fact it just made him curse again. Would she make him swear every time they had sex? Probably. Vanderwood never wanted it to end, even more so because he knew that he'd have to leave soon, but he wanted to be wrapped up in her for eternity.

Now that tight and tense feeling calling for relief was back full force, like she was wound up so tightly that she would break at any moment. "Marion, I'm..." Cerise was able to at least get that much out in between how much gasping and moaning she was doing. Oh, right. She was supposed to be quiet...It was obviously too late now, because she was the exact opposite of that.

Her sounds were winding him up even further, and he could tell that she was getting close before she’d even tried to speak. "It's okay, mon amour." He moaned the term of endearment more than he said it, feeling like he was about to break apart into pieces. "I'm...right there with you." Holy crap, the way he had uttered that was incredibly sexy and it did nothing but push her closer to that release she needed.

Cerise reached her climax mere seconds before he did, burying her head into his shoulder as she cried out his name. Vanderwood was right there, waiting for her release before he let go himself. Being _polite_ during sex was new to him, but it also was so rewarding, because her crying out his name almost seemed like it tipped him right over the edge towards ecstasy in a totally new way. He stopped his motion as he came hard, crying out her name in turn.

She stayed there buried into his shoulder as she tried to compose herself, still clinging to him like she had before, both of them completely lost. He nuzzled into her hair as she clung to him, trying to catch his breath and get to the point where he could function like a normal human being again. Vanderwood pulled out to roll onto his side, bringing her with him, careful to avoid hurting her. Cerise let out a small squeak in surprise but recovered quickly, just wanting to nuzzle back into him, only to be momentarily disappointed. He’d shifted away to dispose of the nearly forgotten condom before he returned to snuggling her.

Vanderwood pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "How was _everything_ , ma moitié?" The tease had a little pepper of blush in his own cheeks, but considering that he was already flushed from their lovemaking, it wasn't so bad. She kissed his cheek and ran a hand through his hair, smiling affectionately at him. " _Everything_ ," She put emphasis on it like he had, teasing him a bit, "...was perfect. She swept his bangs back to place her own kiss on his forehead. "Thank you."

He snorted softly at her teasing him in return. Vanderwood was going to marry her, no doubt about it. All he needed was to find a ring and the right time to ask. How long had they been together now? A few weeks? It hardly seemed sane, but that was definitely how he felt. Love…it was something he’d never thought he’d have, and yet, she made him feel like he deserved it. He’d told her he wanted to be with her forever, and that was as close as he could feasibly get, the intimacy they’d just shared just making him want it all the more. Trust him to think of getting married after sex. Jesus.

***

Seven removed his noise cancelling headphones, hoping he wouldn't have his ears assaulted. It had been about an hour, surely, they were done. Thank God. Maybe with someone else he would have taped it and sent it to them as a prank, but with as much stress as he was under, Seven wasn’t feeling up to it. He was really antsy to get going, but Vanderwood didn't seem in as much of a hurry. Apparently, wanting to be around your girlfriend would do that to you. The redhead shrugged and made his way to Vanderwood's door, knocking but not entering. Okay, so maybe he could have just a little bit of fun. "Marion~!" He cried the name in a false French accent.

Cerise tensed up when she heard the knock, but she became irritated quickly once she heard Seven pretty much mocking her accent. She felt she really understood why Vanderwood wanted to tase him. Hell, she wanted to tase him at that point. The knock had already gotten Vanderwood irritated, but the way Seven said his name. His eyebrow twitched, and he pulled Cerise closer to his body, pulling a blanket over them as he called out to the redhead. "Leave us the fuck alone. Or do I need to tase you again?" Cerise snuggled into him, just letting him handle it. Vanderwood obviously had a way with words.

He was really just ridiculously irritated with Seven today. The kid was sticking his nose into everything. Granted, the guy was nervous and worried about his brother, which did relax Vanderwood somewhat in sympathy, but why did he have to keep being annoying? "I'll be out in a half hour." Cerise felt a twinge of sadness… half an hour...that's all the time she had left with him. She still really didn't want him to go, but she knew that he had to.

With soft grunt, he shook his head and nuzzled the top of her head, certain that the redhead had run off again. "Why did I take a bullet for that idiot?" Well, he knew the answer to that question. Vanderwood held his right hand out, noting the gouged and raised crisscrossing scars before resting his chin on the top of her head, stroking her back gently as he was lost in thought.

This wasn't the time to be thinking about any of that really...he should be enjoying what little time he had left with Cerise before his trip, and he had enough to worry about in the present. Cerise stayed quiet and just focused on the feeling of having him there warm and next to her while he stroked her back. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Once he left, it would be the first time since the day they met that they would be apart for an extended amount of time.

Vanderwood pulled back to press a kiss to her lips gently. "I'm going to miss you..." She’d welcomed the kiss, always delighted to feel his lips press against hers, but the topic of conversation made her feel a little lost. "I'll miss you too...only two days, right?" Two days still seemed like a long time for her, but considering the nature of their work, it was probably a short time to do a job, especially if it was complicated.

"Just two..." It felt like it would be way too long already, and he hadn't even left yet. Time was ticking down every minute. "I'll try not to get into trouble for you...and when I get back I can take you back to your place." When he got back, he'd also be finding her a ring, something beautiful enough to match her. What was her ring size? Pretty small, he thought. Vanderwood nonchalantly took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. Definitely a smaller size. If he chose wrong, he could always get it resized.

Cerise wasn’t even sure what to think about the plans for when he returned. Back to her place...it felt like a strange concept. She hadn’t even spent but a few hours at her apartment before she was whisked away and on the run with Marion. Despite all the bad things that had happened, there were a lot of good things, too. If she hadn't met him, there would no doubt be an unexplainable hole in her heart that she wouldn't be able to fill. Cerise couldn't imagine being without him now, as silly as it might seem, considering how long they had known each other.

After a little longer of just holding her, giving her the occasional kiss, he looked at his clock and groaned. The redhead was smart enough not to have come back right on the dot, but he'd be back soon enough. Cerise was content with the silent company for a while, it meant that she couldn't say anything completely stupid and ruin the mood, but now he really needed to get ready, and as much as she would prefer he stay in bed with her, Cerise knew it wouldn’t be good to ask. Vanderwood gave her another long kiss before he got up to put on his clothes, strapping his taser on. She watched him get ready, like she was committing his image to her memory. "There should be food you can make while you're here and what's mine is yours." He indicated his TV with his chin.

"Okay...I'll try not to burn the house down while you're gone. " Vanderwood snorted pretty hard. He was pretty sure Seven had gotten closer to burning down the house than she was going to get. Now he crawled back onto the bed to kiss her again, deep and slow, unable to resist. Vanderwood didn't want to go, but the sooner he left, the sooner he'd be back, right? She kissed him back eagerly, embracing him tightly as she did so. Cerise broke away and watched him for a moment before speaking. "Take a picture with me before you leave." She hopped up and got dressed quickly before grabbing her phone. "This way when I miss you, I can open my phone and see you. "

Her request had his heart completely melting, that now familiar fuzzy feeling in his chest making a smile break across his face. "Of course, mon amour. Make sure you send it to me too." He wrapped his arms around her from behind, placing his chin on top of her head. "How's this?" Cerise could move him however she wanted, and he wouldn't mind in the slightest. Vanderwood had developed rather a liking for pictures...at least pictures with her.

She had honestly been expecting him to protest at least a little. Cerise knew how much he had disliked having his picture taken, but she was excited that he was allowing it and even wanted a copy. Cerise leaned back into him a little and smiled. "It's perfect. " She positioned her camera so that they were both in the frame and snapped the picture, checking the picture and deciding she was satisfied with the first take. It looked so natural. Grinning, she turned to show it to him. "I think it turned out good."

"Anything with you in it is perfect." Cheesy, but true; it just slipped out of his mouth without a thought. There was no point in worrying about how cheesy he had clearly become, because there was no stopping it. Vanderwood loved the picture. They looked comfortable and happy; they _were_ comfortable and happy. He really didn't want to leave, but it was time for him to go.

His heart was actually aching as he took her chin and gave her _yet another_ long kiss, wanting to be able to remember the feeling of kissing her while he was away. "I'll be back soon." It took him a minute to actually let go of her and tear himself away. She was able to keep from letting herself tear up, not wanting to worry him right before he left, Marion was going to have more important things to think about if she wanted him to stay safe. The last kiss he had given her felt a little bittersweet. "I'll be waiting...be safe."

Vanderwood greeted Seven in the living room where he was lounging on the couch. "You were so ready to get going earlier, so let's get going." They had a long drive ahead of them, and he was just happy the redhead would be the one driving so he could text Cerise.

After sending him the picture, Cerise grabbed a pillow and held it to herself, sitting down and bringing her knees to her chest, burying her face into it. She just had to get through two days; she could manage that, right? There were plenty of things she could busy herself with, plus it wasn't like she would have zero contact with him...it would be fine. It had to be fine.

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	15. Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood has to be gone on a highly dangerous mission, but at least it should be his last. I hope that's not foreshadowing.

***All of my NSFW scenes have had their passwords removed. =0 So, now you can get dat gud gud when you want it. Enjoy your weekly dose of Cherrywood!***

It felt strange to Cerise, being in his weird place with nobody around. He'd been gone less than an hour, and she was already beginning to feel antsy. They had retrieved the rest of her pillows from the trunk of the car, and she spent a lot of her time buried in them and texting her boyfriend. He was so formal when it came to texting, but it was also kind of cute, too. The texts stopped coming at some point, meaning they must have arrived at their destination, and that's when she started to feel alone and just weird without him. Just like he said, he was checking in with her in twelve-hour intervals. It wasn't a lot, but it was at least something. 

In the time between, she busied herself with exploring the house and watching TV while updating her blogs. She'd even managed to not burn the kitchen down. Coffee was a no-go, since she couldn't figure out the coffee maker. Obviously, there was only one thing to do there. Cerise took a sad picture with it and posted it, taking an hour or so to watch another show before she felt there was no doubt there many people explaining the mysterious workings of the coffee maker to her. After some reading, she was able to figure it out. Sometimes being cute and popular online had its perks. Cerise posted a new picture with her freshly made cup of coffee and thanked her followers. 

While digging through the cabinet, she found a bag of chips she'd never seen before. They looked like they would be a good snack, so she opened a bag and took a bite. Nope. Nuh uh. Cerise found herself promptly spitting it out and taking a gulp of her still hot coffee to eliminate the taste from her mouth. Who could stand to even eat those? So gross. Her mind slipped to Marion. He certainly wouldn’t have eaten those chips. Was he eating right out there on his mission? Cerise did her best not to worry and keep herself occupied, but she couldn’t stop thinking about him like that.

The second day was coming to a close, and there was no sign of either of them. Marion was supposed to have come back…just two days, that had been what he’d said, so anxiety kept building higher by the second. Cerise checked her phone to see if maybe she had missed a text...something. She didn't like it...worrying wasn't going to get her anywhere, so she buried herself in the blankets and pillows of his bed and fell asleep.

Cerise wasn't sure how long she was asleep before a notification woke her up. She rubbed her eyes and sat up as she sleepily unlocked her phone to check it, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was from Vanderwood, but soon her relief turned into concern. `Can't talk am okay Wil take longr than thouht` He was saying that it was going to take longer...and the way he was texting was so unlike him.

Panic began to set in. Did something go wrong? He said he was okay...but was he really? She wouldn't put it past him to tell her he was when he wasn't. Cerise wanted to reply, but it wouldn't have done any good. He’d said he couldn't talk, and she didn't want to possibly compromise him by spamming his phone. That jerk had better come back in one piece.

***

He had spent the entire trip to the mission point texting Cerise, wishing he could be there with her instead of in the car with Zero Seven. It sucked ass that when they got to their location, he couldn’t talk to her much anymore, and maybe he was somewhat distracted by that fact. This was just further proof to him of why agents couldn’t have loved ones, why he couldn’t keep working, why they needed to get this done. At least he was managing to keep up with separating himself from the kid by calling him by his agency name, but he felt like that wasn’t really doing him any good on this mission either. Vanderwood didn’t feel like he was his usual self.

The first and second day went as planned. Every twelve hours he would send Cerise a quick message to let her know that he was okay. By the time Zero Seven felt he’d taken down all of the security cameras and given them the best possible guess on where his brother would be, Vanderwood was ready to get this shit over with.

They had some trouble getting past a few guards, but they slipped easily through the corridors of the building using the blueprint Seven had found. At this point, there wasn’t even a point to calling him Zero Seven…This mission was an emotional one anyway, not even agency regulated. With the security system down, they only had to worry about running into people. There was a strange large room that honestly looked like a church from the outside. Now they just needed to get through that to get toward the main information hub where Seven thought his brother would be.

Everything seemed to be going as it should…right up until they entered the strange church like building. For whatever reason, the people inside had been expecting them. Vanderwood tried not to blanch at the number of people surrounding them. They all seemed like they were in some haze, and the one that was clearly Seven's brother was no better. He’d noticed him almost immediately, the white hair tinted in pink and mint colored eyes not keeping him from being almost the exact likeness of his twin brother.

Brown eyes traveled to the queen bitch as she stood. Really, she was rather pretty, but her heart was clearly ugly. "Can I start my revenge, Savior?" The twin had a weird manic tone to his voice, and Vanderwood furrowed his brows. What the fuck was he talking about? The queen bitch looked over to them, her eyes glassy. "Not until after we give them their cleansing."

He shifted away from her. What the fuck did that even mean? They were at a major disadvantage here. Fuck. Already completely surrounded, and no way to just escape. "You're not giving me shit." Vanderwood didn't like the sound of it, and now two men were laying their hands on Seven. He moved instinctively, knocking the first to the ground before punching the other in the face so hard that the man fell backwards. "Seize him!" The bitch shrieked and then he was on the ground as four men kicked at him. He was lucky that the first one's kick to his jaw didn't snap his neck.

Vanderwood tried to block out the pain as the next started going nuts on his abdomen, one kicking him in the back of his leg and another assaulting his shoulder blade. It hurt like Hell, and he would be damn lucky if he didn't start internally bleeding to death right there on the floor. No, he couldn't think like that. He needed to get back to Cerise. Vanderwood just laid there, waiting for it to stop and thinking of her.

When he came back to reality, they'd ended up in some sort of dungeon, constantly being watched by two guards. Vanderwood ran his hands discreetly over his body, wincing at the pain, but finding his phone and a few other weapons still stashed on him. At least he had his phone. They'd found his taser and gun and stopped at that, it seemed. If he risked a text to Cerise, there was a chance he'd lose his phone completely. Still, he needed to let her know that he wouldn't be home, needed to keep her from doing anything rash. Not that he knew what she would do or could do.

He tucked himself into the corner sending the text as quickly as he could with his left hand, since his right was out of use, thanks to the damage his shoulder blade had taken. `Can't talk am okay Wil take longr than thouht` There wasn't time to fix the typos or punctuation. He stuffed his phone back into his pocket before making his way over to his moping partner, limping a little. "So. What are we gonna do?"

***

It was the fourth day now…When he could manage, he’d sent messages to confirm to Cerise that he was alive, but he was sure that she was frightened. Honestly, he was a little frightened too. There were guards everywhere, and they could easily knock out a few, but then they would be swiftly set upon by another few.

There was simply no way they could get out of this, and every day Seven’s brother would come by to taunt them about this ‘cleansing’, which Vanderwood was pretty certain was drug related, something that gave him a whole different kind of terror. Seven wasn’t as useful as he needed to be either, begging his brother to hear him out every time he was in their cell. Vanderwood had to knock the kid over the head just to get him to pay attention instead of staring off into a corner. They needed to get out of here somehow.

After long drawn out whispers of conversation, Seven and Vanderwood had decided they needed to knock out the guards and call for the help of Seven's friends. Usually they had the agency to rely on, but considering they were about to release the information of the major members of the organization as soon as this mission was over, as well as the fact that this mission was unauthorized, that wasn't an option. Seven had assured Vanderwood that the rich kid could handle sending the right people, and as much as both of them didn't want to involve anyone else, they didn't have a lot of options left open to them.

It was only a matter of minutes after Seven had made the call that they heard helicopters overhead. Damn. The rich dude really was resourceful. After what seemed like hours, they were finally released from their dungeon, giving Vanderwood a massive rush of relief as they were out of that dirty environment and back in control.

 Seven hadn’t been able to handle this well. He felt like he’d completely lost himself in all of this. His brother…there was so much wrong with this. V had been supposed to keep Saeran safe…Rika had been…It didn’t make any sense. The others…they were all involved now, and they all needed to get to a hospital. At least with Saeran on his way to the hospital, he’d be able to remove the agency threat by releasing the information on those agents who deserved justice brought down on them…Seven wasn’t even sure he felt like praying, even though it felt like his entire soul was being flushed down a toilet.

Everyone would be getting the, 'cleansing' flushed from their systems, so he needed to go with Saeran, although Vanderwood looked…all sorts of fucked up. “Mary, shouldn’t you come too?” His girlfriend was at the bunker, she was safe, but it seemed like that didn’t matter much to Vanderwood, who only gave him a glare in response to the pet name he hated so much. "I need to get home to Cerise."

And he did. She was probably all sorts of panicked, and he felt absolutely empty without her. Driving hurt like Hell. Any time he moved the muscles black with bruise, it hurt like Hell, and every time he opened his mouth, his jaw clicked painfully. Still, the only thing he could think of was Cerise, holding her close and filling what felt like an empty void in his soul. He didn't care that he was driving, opening his phone to look at the picture they'd taken before he left. It wasn't enough, but at least he could look at her and remember the joy of that moment. His moitié, the other half of his soul.

Once he parked. the thought of having a cigarette wasn't even on his mind, nor was sex, he was tense and agitated, but all he wanted was her in his arms, to bury his face in her hair. He pushed the door open, grunting at the motion before calling out to her, his voice betraying the pain he was in. "Cerise?" Was she in his room? He limped along to find her.

Cerise had been napping when she was woken up by what she could have sworn had been her name being called. She sat up on the bed and listened...could she hear someone? The possibility of an intruder hadn't even crossed her mind; the first thing on her mind was the possibility of it being Vanderwood. Quickly she got up and practically ran for the door, opening it. Her suspicions were confirmed; he was finally home.

A mix of emotions swirled through her when she saw him. Love, adoration, worry, empathy, anger...He’d said he was okay, so why did he look so beaten up? Cerise couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes as she ran up to him and threw her arms around him as gently as she could, knowing that he had to be in all sorts of pain. "You jerk...you lied to me...said you were okay..."

Vanderwood could only describe the sight of her as angelic. He wrapped his arms around her, grunting softly at the pain as he pulled her close, nuzzling into her hair and breathing in her heavenly scent. It was like stitching his soul back together. "I'm more than okay now..." That was cheesy, but he was too tired to berate himself. He had lied to her a little...this was incredibly painful. "I missed you so much, shortcake." Pressing kisses to the top of her head, he made a move to get back to his room, keeping an arm around her, not willing to let go quite yet.

If it wouldn't have hurt so much, he would have flopped onto his bed, but instead he sat slowly, the pain in his leg reminding him that maybe he should just be laying down. Honestly, he should get some pain-relieving patches on his bruises just to get towards functioning again, but even the thought of getting up again was painful. "Mon amour...Would you do me a favor and get the first aid kit from the bathroom?" So far, she’d been silently watching him. His jaw was clicking again, and he winced, going to pull off his shirt, revealing the mass of bruising on his abdomen and right shoulder blade.

Cerise hadn't been able to do much to support him on his way back to his room. All she could think was that he was really beat up. It was a scary sight. He had asked for the first aid kit, but she didn't move upon his request, and as he pulled his shirt off to reveal even heavier injuries, she found herself getting even more angry and upset. Marion most definitely wasn't okay. Cerise frowned at him and sat on the edge of the bed with her back to him, her arms crossed. "...If you're so okay, you can get them yourself." Her voice held a bit of bitterness. What he needed was a doctor, not a first aid kit.

She was pissed at him. Rightfully so, he deserved it. Vanderwood was about to gather up the strength to get up and retrieve the first aid kit when she went off to get it for him after all. Cerise figured she might as well give him what he wanted, because he wasn’t about to go to a doctor, and she wasn’t about to let him hurt himself more with getting up, even if a small part of her thought he deserved it.

Vanderwood wasn’t really sure how to feel at the moment, even though she was angry at him, he couldn’t help feeling so refreshed simply being around her. Cerise had wordlessly gotten up to fetch the first aid kit and bring it over, and now she was rifling through it instead of handing it to him. “Do you want me to-“ Vanderwood didn’t get to finish his sentence before she gave him a glare. Apparently, Cerise was not in the mood to let him take care of it. She had some idea of what to do and grabbed some pain relievers from the kit, preparing a glass of water and bringing that to him. "Open."

He did as she requested, opening his mouth for the pills and water and drinking it down. God, it felt like forever since he'd had something to drink. Vanderwood probably hadn't eaten in over 24 hours either, and he certainly smelled terrible after four days of not showering and sleeping in a car and on a cold dungeon floor.

His skin started to crawl, but he had other pressing matters to attend to. He reached for the kit to grab those little patches, not wanting to bother her any more than he already had. Cerise just glared at him. Vanderwood started with popping one on his jaw, a couple on his abdomen and then contorting himself to attempt to place some properly on his shoulder blade. Which, really, he shouldn't be attempting to do by himself, because that was just hurting him more, but he wasn't about to ask her any more favors. He'd pissed her off enough already.

Cerise had been watching silently as he attempted to patch himself up and kinda fail. What did he think he was doing? Really? Marion was an idiot, pretending that he was ‘okay’ and trying to take care of himself. It was only making her madder. Sighing, she grabbed a patch from him and placed it properly on his shoulder blade herself, making him snort softly that she was still bothering to take care of him despite how angry she was. God, he loved this woman.

She disappeared into the other room, and while she was gone, he pulled his pants down just enough to pop a patch on the back of his upper thigh. She didn’t need to see everything. It was about fifteen minutes before she reappeared with what looked like soup in a cup. The cup of soup was a welcome meal, even if he would never eat that normally.

His heart was doing that melty thing that it always did when she took care of him, too, and Vanderwood thought it was oddly romantic…in his own special way. Cerise had just figured that the soup would be easier on him, since his jaw had looked pretty bad. "I'm not really good at cooking, but this should be tolerable. " Marion just nodded as Cerise sat on the bedside beside him and offered to help him down it by placing the rim of the cup by his mouth.

Fucking Hell, she was amazingly kind, kinder than he deserved, and her help was more than he’d ever gotten from anyone other than maybe an agency nurse, and she got paid for that shit anyway. Vanderwood let her help him drink the soup down, feeling his stomach protest somewhat at finally getting food again, but knowing that it would settle before long.

As he finished off the soup, he reached for her, taking her hand and pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles. She deserved an apology, and he meant to give it to her. "I'm sorry...I should have told you. I didn't have much time to explain, and I didn't want you to worry...but I shouldn't have lied to you."

She enjoyed the feeling of his lips on her skin, but as much as she enjoyed it, she was still irritated with him. "Shut up, don't talk." Cerise was happy that he was apologizing, she just didn't feel like hearing it at the moment. He was just going to have to put up with that. She got up, taking the emptied cup with her to put away and then came back to clean up all the packaging mess from the first aid kit.

He did as she asked, clamping his mouth shut and watching her move about the room cleaning up. Vanderwood was happy she was picking up for him because otherwise it would have just driven him crazy. It was difficult to understand for him, the fact that his apology didn’t mean anything, but then he’d never been good with interpersonal things. Honestly, he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d apologized for something. Cerise was pissed…he deserved that…and it wasn’t like someone had to accept an apology even if it was given. Perhaps she just wasn’t ready for it? Hell if he knew, but he laid back on the bed as best as he could, letting her do the cleaning, despite itching to do so himself.

Shit, he needed a shower too. Vanderwood tried not to think about it. Tomorrow…tomorrow after he took her back home like he’d promised, at least not failing her there, he could clean, and he could shower in the morning. For now, just focusing on the fact that he would get to clean up soon was keeping him from wanting to scrape his skin off.

Cerise left the actual kit out in case he needed it, watching him as he was laying there in thought before settling on the bed beside him and getting as close to him as she could without hurting him. Lying beside him, she reached out to stroke his hair comfortingly. She was mad, yeah...but that didn't mean that she didn't care or didn't love him, and she was sure that he knew that. Right now, no matter how much of a jerk he was, she wanted to be close…to appreciate that he was back at all.

As she played with his hair, Vanderwood closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of it. Cerise was angry, but the care was there. It was only too obvious how much she cared. No one ever cared for him like that in his life, and it made him smile, despite all the pain he was in. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, feeling like he needed it after being away for so long, thinking maybe she needed it, too. Now he simply laid in silence, lightly playing with her hair, happy to be back with the love of his life.

Cerise felt the silence was much needed. She didn't want to snap at him too much, just needing some time to cool down before she was ready for normal conversation with him. The jerk had lied to her and was in so much pain. It hurt, made her chest feel tight. She welcomed his arms and gently snuggled into him, hoping she wasn't hurting him too badly. After so many days away from him and despite being upset, she was happy to be in his arms and beside him again. There was no way she could fall asleep after that, so she just laid there awake, enjoying the feeling of having her hair played with as she returned the favor

Vanderwood's thoughts drifted around as he felt himself relaxing into her. He hadn't even needed sex to get to this point and was honestly pretty proud of himself, knowing that it was all thanks to Cerise that he could relax like a normal human being. The two times they'd had sex had only served to prove to him even more. While he was still impatient as ever, his relationship with sex had changed into something else entirely.

He remembered the last time they’d had sex, making a sharp intake of breath as it hit him full force that he’d nearly forgotten to put on a condom. It was the first time that had ever happened to him, and knowing the way it felt being with her, seemed to him that he could easily forget again. Vanderwood internally slapped himself, not wanting to keep his thoughts drifting in that direction.

His arms tightened around her. Now wasn't the time to think about it. They'd talk about it tomorrow when he went with her to her apartment. Vanderwood felt incredibly stupid on many levels, but again, _it wasn't the time_. Why was he even thinking about it right now? He was exhausted, she was still angry, and he was passing out even with that moment of panic. After pressing a soft kiss to her forehead and nuzzling into her wealth of hair, he took some time to just breathe in her scent, not even realizing that he was sinking into sleep.

Cerise had felt his hold on her tighten, heard his sharp intake of breath, but now he was relaxing again. She didn't know what he was thinking, but it didn't feel like it was really the time to ask. He needed to rest, be able to recover. and she wasn't going to keep him up any longer than he needed to be. He was out shortly after kissing her forehead, easy to notice with the way he went lax. The room was cold, but he was warm, and _alive_. Such a jerk…Marion had terrified her, but she’d clung to the fact that he was okay only to now find out that he really wasn’t. That was what made her so mad. She sighed again and snuggled into him more, hoping not to wake him, but he was so exhausted that he didn’t even stir in his sleep.

She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, opening her eyes slowly and pulling back from him. For the first time since meeting him, she’d woken up before he did. Marion was out cold and was probably going to stay that way for a while, despite how light of a sleeper he was. Even a secret agent couldn’t train himself out of sleep when he was exhausted. Cerise did her best not to wake him as she carefully moved away from him to hop off the bed, heading to the kitchen to fix a glass of water to set by the bed in case he woke up. After grabbing some fresh clothes, she closed herself in the bathroom to take a quick shower, not wanting to use too much of the warm water. He was probably going to want to use the shower when he woke up.

The sound of the shower turning on was what finally woke him. He opened his eyes slowly and rolled over, groaning softly at how sore he felt. There was a glass of water on the table. A smile spread across his face as he realized Cerise must have put it there. Vanderwood drank it quickly before forcing himself out of bed. Gross, he felt rather gross in general, but Cerise was in the shower for now, and the best he could do was change clothes.

Energy wasn't exactly something he had a lot of at the moment, but he needed to eat, so he made his way to the kitchen, making some toast and grabbing some juice. Vanderwood set some out for her as well, not sure if she had eaten yet but guessing that she hadn’t. When she was done with her shower they'd just switch places, and then he could get delightfully clean. After that, back to her place. The thought of taking her home wasn’t one he was a fan of either, but she did need to be in her own place.

His thoughts stilled for a moment as he remembered what had panicked him last night. Fuck...They'd need to talk about that. It wasn’t a major emergency, but the fact that it could have been was enough to tell him they needed to talk sooner rather than later. It was strange the way that after coming back from something so dangerous and stressful, a person slipped into their normal life as though nothing had happened. Before he’d just continued on with training, so agency life was what had felt ‘normal.’ Vanderwood snorted at his own musings as he bit into a piece of toast.

***

Cerise finished her shower quickly, getting dressed as quickly as she could, too. Her hair was still wet, but she could dry it later, wanting to check on him first. She wrung out any excess water and threw a towel over her head before heading into his room. Her eyes scanned the room, finding he wasn't in bed anymore. "Marion?" Cerise called out and headed out into the kitchen, finding him there. She noted that he looked a little better, rested at least. "Morning. Shower's all yours." It would be silly to lie, she was still a little upset, but she had had same time to cool down. Sleep had definitely helped.

Vanderwood heard his name and perked up a little as she entered the room. "Morning..." His eyes scanned hers, checking to see if she was still angry, and it looked like she was, at least a little. "Thanks...I’ll be right back.” It would have been a lie if he said he wasn’t absolutely excited at the thought of taking a shower and washing off the dirt and grime. He chugged down the rest of his juice before wiping his mouth and giving the top of her head a quick kiss.  Vanderwood limped as quickly as he could into his shower.

Cerise gave him a non-committal 'Hnn' before she sat down and nibbled on what he’d set out for her. Even though he was injured, he was still thinking about her, making her breakfast. God, she was being a brat. Briefly she wondered where the red head was, but since Vanderwood wasn't broken up about anything, she assumed he was okay. As much as they seemed to not get along, she could tell they cared about each other. There was no way Vanderwood would have let anything happen to him.

Vanderwood felt like he’d been in a dream-like state as he showered. It felt so good to have the hot water over his sore muscles, that and washing off all the grime. He tried not to think too much about the conversations they needed to have as he dried off and got dressed, packing up a little bag for himself before heading into the kitchen. "Want me to help you pack up your things, mon amour?" He was taking her home today...It felt a little weird, not that he was going to let her stay there alone tonight. The last time he saw her in that apartment, she was being attacked.

She had been a little lost in thought when he came back into the room and inquired about helping her. "Huh, what...?" She stared confused for a moment while her brain caught up. Right. The plan had been to take her back to her place when he got back. It had slipped her mind as a possibility, since he’d been so injured, but clearly, he was still sticking to the plan. That…probably shouldn’t have surprised her, considering how OCD he was. "Oh! No, I have it. " For one thing, she wasn’t about to let him hurt himself helping her, but for another, Cerise had packed up most of her things already while waiting for his return, besides the things she knew she was going to immediately need.

He didn’t really have much of a chance to respond before she was moving the dishes to the sink and washing them. It was oddly homey, and he found himself wanting this every day, the time together at least. Vanderwood lightly touched the bruise on his jaw as she ran off to grab the rest of her things, feeling just a light twinge of pain. The formerly black bruises were now yellow and orange in color, so it wouldn't be long before they were gone completely. It wasn’t even that long before she appeared again and stood in front of the garage door. “Ready when you are, Marion."

It felt awkward to him, the way he was stiff completely unrelated to his pain as he helped her to the care. Vanderwood couldn’t quite place his finger on it, maybe all of the things that they needed to talk about were just…picking at him harder than he thought. As he was about to help her into the car, he felt like he needed to say at least _something_. "Hey...shortcake..." She paused and looked up into his eyes. Maybe she was ready to hear it now? He gently slid his fingers along her jawline, urging her to lock her eyes with his. "I really am sorry." It wasn't like him to apologize to anyone. Usually, he had nothing to be sorry for, but with Cerise, he was as vulnerable as he could ever be. "I love you, Cerise."

His eyes were so genuine as he apologized to her, and she couldn’t help the way her heart responded or the relief she felt now as the anger had washed off of her. It's not like she could stay mad at him forever. Cerise caught his hand and nuzzled into it before bringing it to her lips and kissing his knuckles like he often did for her. "I know...I was....I was just scared. I want you to be honest with me, even if the truth hurts." Cerise moved to embrace him gently before she got ready to get into the car. "I love you too, Marion."

His face lit up with blush at her simple little actions, those small moments feeling like they mattered more to him than anything else. "I'll try my best. I'm not really used to...sharing my world." He lightly stroked her hair before taking her hand to help her into the car as he liked to do. Maybe what he'd just said didn't make much sense, but hopefully she understood.

It's not that he really made a habit of lying, but it was far more often that he just lied by omission, because he had to, as much as he hated lies. Vanderwood drove in silence for a while, biting his tongue. There was still that other thing they needed to talk about. For the time being she was blissfully unaware, but it wouldn't be long before she'd notice how agitated he was, if she hadn't already.

Cerise was lost in her own thoughts as he drove. She hoped that eventually Vanderwood would open up to her more, maybe trust her. Yeah, she would worry, but at least she would have a clear idea of what was going on and what to expect. It was a complete shock to her when she’s first seen him when he came back, and she didn't want that to happen again.

The silence was starting to become almost deafening. Cerise felt like there was something between them, something unsaid, and she wanted to talk, but decided to busy herself with her phone for comfort. The air seemed so strange. Did he want to talk too? She peeked over at him more than once, waiting for him to speak up.

Maybe it wasn’t the right time at all, but the thought was starting to become impossible to ignore, so Vanderwood decided to just get it out there. "I uh...I have to tell you something.”  He needed to tell her something? She tensed up a bit. What in the world was he talking about? “We kind of might have a problem...Well, I don't think we have a problem...but the other night I got really distracted, and...I was so caught up in you I just, I uh...For the first time ever, I did something majorly stupid. "

She was giving him her full attention, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as Vanderwood was getting frustrated with himself. His words were having trouble working. Talking to Cerise about these types of matters was constantly flustering. It would be so much simpler if he could just come out and say it. "I almost forgot to wear a condom." Oh great. Well, at least now it was said. He coughed softly, going back to biting his tongue as he watched for her reaction from his periphery vision.

Oh. Cerise was at a loss for words before she could gather her composure. It's not like she remembered either..."I...uhh..." What was the correct response? She took in a deep breath. "I won't get pregnant will I...?" Cerise internally screamed at herself a little. Obviously, he’d only _almost_ forgotten, but now her mind was going down another path. "I think...I'm too young." It was a little like having cold water dumped on her all at once. What would she even do if she got pregnant? She felt herself start to panic a little but tried to talk herself down from it. Nothing had happened, it could have happened, but it hadn’t.

"I…No, but…We should get you on some birth control in the future, just in case…I forget." Vanderwood couldn't stop biting his tongue, her comment that she was too young just making him think more about it. Cerise felt she was too young…but he wasn’t sure no matter how old she was if he could ever be a father. "I can't..." He sighed heavily. She wanted his honesty, and she deserved it. "I can't be a father. After Caleb...I mean...He died in my bathroom. I knew something was up, and I left him at my place alone. Had I been a better parental figure than I was a brother, maybe none of that would have happened."

Vanderwood felt like his heart was crushing in on itself as he pushed his bangs back with one hand, keeping the other on the steering wheel. "I'm sorry. Really, I never thought I'd have anyone in my life again, and I certainly never thought I'd have a girlfriend or a family. I don't know." That was a heavy conversation to just lay on her. It hadn’t been meant to be that kind of conversation, just a suggestion to solve any potential forgetfulness.  

He didn't like it, the pain that he felt, and he liked even less that now she was stuck feeling it too. It wasn't like he would run away if it ever happened. Vanderwood could never leave Cerise, but the thought of being a parent terrified him. Then again...No...Not now, and maybe not ever. His jaw was starting to get sore with how much he was biting his tongue. "I might not ever be able to give you that..."

Marion was clearly hurting so badly, and the air in the car was only feeling heavier, but at least he was telling her. That was all she could ask for right now. "Marion..." She listened to him talk, concern apparent in her eyes. "You were so young...a child can't raise another child. You did the best you knew how." Cerise put a hand on his leg and squeezed gently. "I can't say I understand how you feel, and I'm not going to pretend that I do. You've been through so much, and I've been through so little..."

Her heart ached for him. What happened with his brother was beyond his control, and Cerise wished that he could realize that, as hard as it was. Marion would probably beat himself up over it for the rest of his life. "I honestly....I never thought about it...but..." She paused, trying to search for the right words, "I want you to know that...all I need from you is yourself. That's all I want. You don't have to give me anything. "

Vanderwood listened, not really able to bring himself to talk with the knot that seemed to have formed in his throat. What she was saying...It wasn't wrong, but he would always feel like he could have done more, that he could have done something. His foot had gone off the gas, letting the car slow on its own as the weight of her words sank into him. 'All I need from you is yourself. That's all I want.' He pulled over, and Cerise was about to ask him why, thinking that maybe she had said something wrong before he was leaning over to slide his hand along her cheek and kiss her deeply.

He needed this right now. It was like his heart couldn't decide whether to disintegrate or to swell with affection, so it was doing both and he didn't know what else to do except this. She made the pain bearable when any other time he would have been slamming his hand through something or finding some random woman to just bury the pain. Cerise made him see things from a totally different point of view, with a new outlook on life.

She relaxed into his kiss. It felt like it had been forever since they'd last kissed, and she’d missed it, missed him. Cerise returned his kiss with fervor, letting him know how much she cared and how much she had missed him. Maybe one day he would be able to see himself through her eyes and stop blaming himself, even though it was a lot to hope for. Whether he could or not, she would stay with him every step of the way.

Vanderwood felt choked up, something now burning at his eyes. Was he crying? He was honestly crying. Vanderwood kissed her just a little longer, having missed the feeling of her lips on his. This wasn’t like when he sought physical release to make the pain go away, the pain was still there…just it was somehow a lot lighter.

It was so different, letting himself actually bear the pain, but it also felt good underneath it all. Vanderwood touched his cheek as he pulled away from her, fingers coming away wet, snorting softly at himself. Really, this just wasn't like him. He hadn't cried for so long it seemed, and now, here he was, crying in front of his girlfriend. It wasn't that he felt emasculated; it was just funny to him that after all these years she was what it took to break through his barriers. Seemingly, his whole life had been leading him towards her, somehow.

He pressed another kiss to her forehead, thumb stroking her cheek gently. "I love you. You're all I need." Cerise was surprised to see that he was crying when he had pulled away. If he was crying then..."I..." She started to sniffle as tears welled up in her eyes. "...I love you too." It wasn't that she was sad, she was actually really happy. Cerise just happened to be a sympathy crier. At least...that's how it was at first.

Once she started to cry just because he was crying, she started to cry harder as all the emotions from the past few days came flooding to her. Her entire composure broke, and she wasn't able to hold it in. Cerise didn't care if Marion thought she was a baby or if she was being silly, she just wanted to be close to him. After flinging her seatbelt off she leaned over to throw her arms around his torso and bury her face into him, sobbing. Really...he was the one who had all these problems and emotions to deal with and here she was making a scene and being a baby.

Vanderwood pulled her close despite the pain as she’d launched herself at him, nuzzling into her in turn as he gently stroked her hair, muttering softly into her ear. "Je'taime...Everything's okay." He continued to mutter sweet words, not really sure of what else to do. This was another of those new situations where he berated himself for not watching more romance movies, so he'd have known what to do. Vanderwood wasn't entirely sure why she was crying. Hell, he wasn't sure why he was crying, but right now he just wanted to hold her close and never let go.

After today, he was going to ask her to marry him. He’d already wanted to, had already thought about it before he left for his mission, had wanted that domestic bliss of watching her do the dishes just today…Yeah…Tomorrow he'd get a ring, and then he'd find the right time. It seemed like he held her there like that for hours as their tears dried up, but he still didn't let her go for a while longer, needing her close to him. "Je'taime, Cerise...Let's get you home, so I can hold you even tighter." That sounded cheesy but _right_ somehow.

She didn't know how long they were there, and she didn't care. Marion didn't judge her, he just held her and told her that he loved her. It did wonders for calming her, and she could feel her tears lessen until she wasn't crying anymore. "...Je'taime aussi..." Cerise murmured into him and pulled back to put her seat belt back on, settling back down into her own seat. "That sounds good..." She was looking forward to potential cuddles, like she couldn't get enough of just having his arms around her, sharing their warmth. It was a beautiful feeling that she didn't think she could get tired of ever. Cerise leaned against the window and closed her eyes. The trip wouldn't be long, but a little relaxation never hurt anyone, and she even opted to ignore her rapidly buzzing phone.

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	16. Back Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cerise is finally back in what was supposed to become her home. There are a number of unexpected surprises, but that doesn't keep these two love-birds from enjoying their time spent together.

***Apologies for the late post today! It *is* still Wednesday, barely, but my friend came to Texas today all the way from California, so it's been a bit of a hectic day. Pray forgive me! Check out this amazing gif by our official artist @chaoticstarblossoms on tumblr to help get your forgiveness juices flowing. ~Let's Connect! FFC***

As Vanderwood pulled back onto the road, he couldn’t help but marvel at Cerise. From the way she made him feel to the way she could get the truth out of him and help him deal with the pain, it amazed him. It would amaze him for the rest of his life. He parked close to her apartment, walking around to help her out before grabbing the bags, wincing as he tossed them over his right shoulder, having forgotten about the bruising there.

Cerise felt bad that Marion was still carrying her stuff around, knowing that he was still in pain and noticing the wince. It was too bad he hadn’t given her much of a chance to grab them, but at least they’d be inside the house soon. She realized pretty quickly upon arriving at her door that…there was going to be a slight problem with the lock.

"I didn't have a chance to get my keys before everything. " Cerise turned to look at him over her shoulder. "Is there any awesome secret agent stuff you can do to unlock it? That won't hurt you more?" She added on the last part, not wanting him busting the door down or anything. The more she thought about it, the more she had to wonder...was it even safe in there? It had to be if his employers had been there, right? Cerise honestly didn't know much about who Marion worked for, maybe it was better that she didn't try. If there was anything they had to worry about, she was sure he'd bring it up.

Vanderwood set the bags on the ground lightly, kissing her forehead. “Just a moment.” It was a pretty easy feat for him to pick a lock and leaving evidence of that didn’t really matter anymore. As usual with a break in, the lock would have been replaced with an exact copy, just missing the telltale scraping from lockpicking. The inside would be clean too, no sign of any struggle. Hell, her bed would probably even be made.

His hand settled over the doorknob just to test what kind it was, and that's when he felt that tiny bit of resistance that said a string was attached. Vanderwood's eyebrow twitched, a dark feeling coming up in his chest. The fucking cleanup crew had set up a booby trap, probably meant to capture Cerise and question her.

"Fucking asshats." He muttered softly as he got something from his jacket pocket which he used one, to very carefully pick the lock and two, to carefully push the door pin in, so all he had to do was slowly push the door open to keep from turning the door knob. It would have snapped the string otherwise.

Cerise watched in awe as he went to work on the door. She couldn't help but to think that it was actually really cool...like the secret agent stuff you would see on the TV. She hovered around him, watching what he was doing from different angles, intrigued. Cerise definitely wasn't a fan, though, of whatever it was that they hooked up to her apartment which she could see now, peering in under his arm.

Once the door was open, they’d been greeted with the sight of a hooked-up tranquilizer shooter, which he immediately went to and took down. "Sorry, shortcake. Apparently, the cleanup crew didn't think I'd be letting you back in here." Vanderwood found the camera that would have activated as well and turned that off, too. "Apparently." Cerise was glad that her boyfriend was good at his job, otherwise they would have had to deal with that whole mess. "Do you think the rest of the apartment is okay?"

It was pissing him off a good bit, worrying what they would have done about it if Cerise had come back here on her own. Then again, he’d told them that she had been moved to a secure hospital after being assaulted and had covered it up with hospital records from somewhere to make it appear as though she’d never even seen him. It was better that way. However, that was an even better reason for them not to have rigged the place like this. "Let me check."

He took his time, looking in every nook and cranny and testing all her locks and windows while he was at it. No one was going to hurt Cerise. If he had anything to say about it, he would always be by her side, but he already couldn't guarantee that. In fact, by this time tomorrow they would probably be apart. His heart felt a twinge.

Vanderwood didn't like being apart from her for even a moment, but it was probably best for them both, just so he could finish recovering and she could settle into her place. This way he would have time to get her ring too. The thought was a little nerve-wracking, because he was _really_ going to ask her to marry him at some point, but it was better for now if he kept his focus on checking for any other boobytraps.

Cerise had decided it was best to just stay in one place while he checked her apartment. She didn't want to accidentally trigger anything that might have been hidden, and she wasn't trained to look for it herself. Her honey-gold eyes scanned the area she was in. The place was mostly unpacked and neat, but it felt really weird being there again. This was all of her stuff but in a place she was unfamiliar with. A lot had happened since she'd last seen this place, but she wouldn't have changed any of it, even if she had the power to. The time she had spent away had been precious, the good and the bad. Absentmindedly she let her fingers touch where her wound was. Even the bad things had their purpose.

Once he'd finished looking around the apartment, Vanderwood felt rather sore and needed to just sit, finding a place on her couch and lying down, stretching across it and holding his arm out to indicate he wanted her to snuggle in. "You're safe. Now I want to hold you close." The comment had blush rising in his cheeks. Vanderwood wanted to hold her and never let go, and that cheesiness was probably what kept those awkward words falling out of his mouth all the time.

She was pulled away from her thoughts when he spoke up, taking one more look around and then walking over to where he was, a blush dusting her own cheeks. "You know...I'm gonna have to find another nickname besides Vanderjerk for you if you continue to be sweet like this. " With a smile playing on her lips, she took him up on his offer and settled into his arms, snuggling up close to him. "...Vandercute? Naah...doesn't have the same ring to it. Hmm..." Cerise spent the next few minutes coming up with various silly potential nicknames for him that played on his last name. "Y'know....I actually don't think I can top Vanderjerk." That was the conclusion she came to with a small giggle.

He’d snorted at her little game, the blush on his face not getting any lighter any time soon. "You can call me whatever you want, shortcake. Just stay with me forever." Was he getting cheesier the more he was around her? It seemed like it, but he was starting not to mind. Vanderwood shifted just a little to get more comfortable, managing to keep a soft grunt at bay when he moved in a way that made his stomach muscles clench up painfully. He sighed and nuzzled her hair. Injuries were always the worst time for him. Especially now when he was with her and wanted to give her the world, make her feel safe after all the shit they'd been through.

Cerise couldn't stop her blush from increasing tenfold. Forever was a long time...did he know how much those words made her heart leap from her chest? "Don't worry...I'm not going anywhere." It made her nose scrunch up a little as he’d moved and tensed. Cerise knew he was still in some pain...How could he not be? She tried to rub his side comfortingly while snuggled up to him, hopefully it didn't hurt. "...Are you okay?"

When she rubbed his side, he closed his eyes. It felt surprisingly soothing. No one had really done that for him before. "Yeah...I'll be okay. I am okay, now that I'm with you again." His hand cupped her cheek gently, stroking with his thumb. "Thank you for worrying for me." Those words had come unbidden, but he really was thankful. Seven had often asked if he was okay after he'd been injured, but it wasn't with the same kind of care that Cerise gave him, the kind that made his heart melt, likely because they just checked up on each other like ‘bros.’ The term always made him roll his eyes, even if Seven was more like a brother to Vanderwood than he ever should have been.

She nuzzled into his hand. Marion stroked her face often, and it had become one of her favorite feelings. Just his touch in general was something she loved and couldn't get enough of. Ever since she’d first met him, she had found herself drawn to him, even if she couldn't explain it at the time. Even when she didn’t realize it, she was always trying to get his attention in one way or another.

At least he let her worry. Cerise had thought that he might be the type to refuse help and keep things bottled in, that he might be too proud to let her help. Luckily, that wasn't the case at all. He seemed to like the fact that she made a fuss over him like she did. It made her wonder if anyone had done that for him before. Cerise was lost in his warmth and her thoughts when suddenly a light bulb went off in her head. "VANDORABLE!" Cerise was so proud of herself at the new ridiculous nickname, she couldn't help but to start laughing at herself.

He was about to move to kiss her, not caring that it would hurt like Hell, when the unexpected nickname arrived. His face first blanched, then filled up completely with red before he started laughing right along with her, probably harder than he'd ever laughed. It hurt his aching muscles, but it felt so good to laugh like that.

This was the kind of laugh that bubbled warmth up in his chest, like there was never anything funnier in this world. Once he finally started to come down from it, he really did move into more of a leaning position against the arm of the couch, pulling her along so he could give her a deep kiss. His body was hurting already from the laughing fit, so he didn't care. He just wanted to love on her, have the intimacy.

Cerise was still smiling against the kiss. She had never heard him laugh like that, and she was happy that he did, that she had caused it with a dumb little joke about his name. He had already come so far compared to the first day they’d met. Marion seemed a lot lighter. Happier. It made her feel warmth spreading throughout her chest. Cerise really did love this man. Before him, she hadn't known that feelings that intense even existed. Slowly, a thought crept up on her. If he was being more open and honest with her, maybe she should be with him.

She pulled away from the kiss, looking a bit worried. "Marion...there's something I didn't tell you..." Cerise couldn't look anywhere but down. It was only a small thing, but the fact was that she had kept a secret... She should have just told him before. "I've...I've had a boyfriend before." Cerise said it so fast that it might have been hard to catch, but there! She’d said it. It was off her chest.

The way she’d pulled away from the kiss with a look on her face had had the breath stilling in his chest. He was surprised just how much his body was tingling with anxiety. 'I've had a boyfriend before.' That possessiveness he was only just starting to get used to crept up on him, and he tightened his arms around her. Cerise was _his_ , and anyone else having been with her made him feel...dark and dangerous. It didn't make a whole lot of sense, considering the kind of shit he had done in his life, that he should be so jealous. Vanderwood bit his tongue to bite it back; she had been a virgin when they got together, and as far as he knew, their first kiss had been her actual first kiss.

Cerise had been gathering her thoughts, letting him process what she’d said before she could continue. "I was in third grade...I don't even remember his name...And I almost dated a guy in high school, but he just wanted my dad, so that ended." All of the tension melted right off of Vanderwood almost immediately, and he started to chuckle again, leaning his forehead against hers. "Shortcake, you are more than forgiven your transgression. I'm pretty sure I've done far worse." Which he had. It made guilt flood him a bit. His soulmate didn't have the satisfaction of being the first woman in his life. "I'm sorry."

"Marion..." Cerise could guess at what he was thinking as he apologized to her. It was true that he had a rather questionable past with women, that he probably didn't know the names of a lot of them...but that was okay. The important thing to her was that he was healing, that he was happier. Cerise let a hand find his hair again, running it gently through. "Marion, I think that sometimes maybe...you have to make a few wrong turns, hit a few bumps in the road, before you end up where you're supposed to be. It might just...take some people longer to get to their destination than others."

He looked into her eyes as she talked, nodding softly as she finished. "I guess that's one way of looking at it." Vanderwood kissed her nose gently. "I've found my destination now..." More cheesiness. Seemed like a lot more than usual today. Cerise let out a soft giggle as he kissed her nose. He really was adorable and soft underneath that rough exterior.

"I guess I found mine kinda early..." Now that she thought about it, she really didn't even know how old he was. He couldn't have been much older than her, maybe a few years. Marion certainly acted older than he appeared, but that was just one of his charms. Did he even know how old she was? Probably things you should find out _before_ you start dating someone. Good job, Cerise! She made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Vanderwood had been enjoying their little moment of silence before the thought hit him like a train. Oh, bloody Hell. Was he going to be cheesy when he proposed? He didn't want to think about it. Vanderwood would just have to practice beforehand. Wait...how did you say, ‘Will you marry me’ in French? That was something to look up later. He coughed softly and shifted to look at the TV. If he spent too much time thinking about it, he would just freak himself out, and she would probably notice. "Maybe we should watch something?"

Cerise bolted up from the couch to her television. "Oh, yeah. That sounds great!" It was one of the first things she set up, so she could have some entertainment while she unpacked. She could not stand the silence. After turning the TV on, the first thing she went to was the telenovela channel and then promptly returned to the couch. "...Maybe I should learn Spanish one day." She mumbled as she watched another rather impressive cat fight break out on the screen.

He snorted softly as he lightly played with her hair once she’d returned, completely absentmindedly. "Well, maybe I'll teach you some Spanish in exchange for you teaching me French." Why were these characters fighting over... oh God no. His eyes went wide. "That would be...so great! I would finally be able to understand these..." Cerise's voice trailed off once she got a look at his face, turning to look toward the television in horror. Oh no. This looked a lot like...and there it was. The donkey. The rapping donkey. Cerise had no idea what they were saying, but at this point she didn't want to know.

The damn donkey. Not the damn rapping donkey. They’d escaped the donkey while they were in the hotel room on the run, but here it was again. How were these shows supposed to be taken seriously when these women were pulling each other's hair out over a fight of who should get to ride the donkey? The camera panned over to an image of the donkey, who was now being ridden by yet another woman. Jesus. "Um...maybe we should watch the news."

He had a feeling that the donkey was going to start...yep, there it was. A rap. Great. Cerise nodded at Marion's suggestion. "...That's a good idea." She got up again to change the channel to the news, ending their rapping donkey induced suffering. Sighing, she returned to the couch and shook her head. "...Who thought that was a good idea? Who?"

Vanderwood felt instant relief when the channel was changed away from the burro monstrosity. He pulled her close to him again and kissed the top of her head as some sort of entertainment report started. 'Rising star musical actor, and Rika’s Fundraising Association member, Zen aka Hyun Ryu shocked the nation when he was spotted with a dazzling woman by the paparazzi recently.' Vanderwood frowned. Wasn't that the organization Seven was a part of? They started to play a clip from Zen's recent performances and Vanderwood's eyebrows furrowed.

"I know that guy from somewhere." His looks were singularly unique, a hard face to forget. Vanderwood bit his tongue and leaned back onto the couch. "Oh. Right. Yeah. I remember now." Probably best not to tell Cerise so much about that particular incident. Cerise watched the man on TV. Vanderwood knew him? The man looked like someone straight out of a magazine and not at all like someone her boyfriend would have associated with. His hair was really long, and he had a little bit of femininity to him.

Cerise froze. Could he have...mistaken this man as a woman? "You...remember?" She asked nervously. Surely that wasn't the case...Marion seemed to realize that he was a man at least now. "If you remember him, did you erm...uhh..." Cerise began to fidget where she was and started to play with her own hair, becoming really interested in it as she talked. "...I mean uhh...he does look really pretty and...I could see how you could have...thought he was a woman..."

What was she trying to say? He watched her becoming more interested in her hair and then his face filled with dark red. She thought he'd? Oh God no. Well, that one time when he was 21 almost, but he had gotten the fuck out of there so fast. "N-no. I have never, never had sex with a man. I uh...I slept with his girlfriend." Vanderwood realized quickly that he needed to be clearer as pictures of Zen flashed on the screen. "This was maybe...five or six years ago. And I didn't know she was cheating on him with me until I was leaving their place." That felt like something he needed to point out. Although, he didn't feel guilty about it. It wasn't his fault the girlfriend was a cheater. He just happened to be the one she cheated with, with no prior knowledge.

Oh...so it was his girlfriend he'd slept with, not the man himself. Even if it had been, it wasn't like it would have changed her feelings for him in the least. Cerise was a little disappointed that he would be involved in someone else's relationship though, the disappointment fading with his explanation. At least he hadn't known she was already in a relationship. "Oh...that makes a lot more sense. " Cerise relaxed into him and took his hand to play with his fingers. "Even if you had slept with another dude, I totally wouldn't judge you." As much as he was in no way interested in men and wanted to make that clear, it was still heartening that she was so open minded. She was probably more open minded than he was.

Another thought crept up on her and she momentarily stopped playing with his fingers. "Do we...do we need to get more sheets for next time, Marion? There weren't enough sheets." Her question had him all sorts of confused. "Next time? Sheets? For what?" There weren't enough sheets?? Vanderwood couldn’t even begin to fathom why she was asking about sheets. He was wracking his brain and going through the possible things that had to do with sheets. Did...she not like his blanket and sheet set or what?

Cerise faced him, a confused look on her face. "You know, sheets. For next time." Wasn't he supposed to know about that sort of thing? He was the one who had the most experience, after all. When it seemed that he wasn't getting it, Cerise pulled out her phone and went to Utube, pulling up a scene from one of her favorite telenovelas in which there were a ridiculous amount of conveniently placed sheets. There were many scenes like that, so it wasn't particularly hard to find one. "Sheets."

As the confusion slipped away, his smile grew wider and wider. "Sheets." Vanderwood snorted and bit his tongue to keep from bursting out laughing so that he could formulate a good explanation for her. "Shortcake...haven't you noticed how the sheets are always placed perfectly so you can't see anything. Look." He pointed out a portion of sheet in the video she was showing him, his face growing a bit red, which was stupid since he was explaining perfectly normal things, but it was always like this with Cerise. "The sheets are between them...you can't have sex like that...obviously...and uh...really it's just so the audience doesn't see anything. Trying to have sex with sheets around you would be...uncomfortable and rather impossible..." Cerise's knowledge was pretty restricted to her shows and what he had taught her so far. It was honestly rather adorable and certainly funny. "We don't need sheets, shortcake."

It took a second to fully sink in as she furrowed her brows, looking at what he’d pointed out. "Don't need..." Of course. What he was saying did make perfect sense now that she thought about it. Wow, she probably made a complete fool out of herself by asking that question. Cerise turned red and began to play with her hair so it was covering her face after putting her phone away again. “Yeah...don't need sheets."

She had honestly thought it was a normal thing...Think, think. What would be a good recovery...? Oh God. No. Cerise looked up with a confident smile and her trademark wink. "That's okay, I enjoy the view a lot better without sheets anyways~" She couldn't stop herself from saying the first thing that popped into her mind, and now she found herself mentally screaming. _WHY. What is your problem?_

Vanderwood was about to kiss the top of her head, just because she was so adorable, when she looked up at him and gave that flirt. Jesus. He turned so red he thought he was a tomato. With as much as he had missed her and as frustrating as it was that he was injured and still recovering, he did not need to be thinking about 'the view.' But now he was, and he had to bite down hard on his tongue to stop his imagination from getting too far gone. "Well...I enjoy the view too...." Jesus...Should have kept his mouth shut.

Cerise had absolutely no response. What were you supposed to do when someone you liked flirted back? She was probably as red as she could get, not to mention just the slightest bit happy that he did actually like 'the view'. Trying to get her mind out of the gutter was something she wasn't used to, so when she found less than innocent thoughts creeping up on her, she shook her head and slapped her cheeks to get a hold on herself. At least those thoughts weren't being verbalized. She thought that she might die if those slipped out..."I'm uhh...glad." Oh, that's great. Cerise was so happy that something normal came out.

He just kind of nodded and pushed his hair back, looking away from her. God, he needed to get his head on straight. If he spent too much time thinking about her in bed, he would be stuck with a problem he couldn't really take care of thanks to pain and soreness. Maybe he should...make that clear? "I uh...so...thing is um...I can't really...handle the view today...If you...get what I mean." There was so much redness in his face it was impossible to handle, and he was trying so hard to make his words work. Besides that, she wasn't good with innuendo. "I uh...I can't have sex until I'm better." Yup, okay, they worked now, but he still wasn't much use as far as mentally functioning.

That...certainly didn't help her mind. Cerise accidentally fell over off the couch onto the floor. Wow, such grace. "Ow..." Cerise got up quickly and rubbed where she fell. "I...wasn't....didn't think...of course you need to get better first. I'm not...ugh..." Cerise honestly had no idea how to Korean at the moment. Of course, she didn't want him to do anything while he was injured. What in the world..."I'm going to go erm...get something to drink." Without waiting for a response, she disappeared into her kitchen.

He’d reacted when she fell, making a move to grab her that only made his sore muscles clench up hard. Thankfully, she seemed to be fine, and disappeared off into the kitchen. "Fuuuck." Vanderwood had to lean back into the couch. Bloody Hell, now he was in some pretty intense pain. "I didn't mean you wanted to...just...honesty." He managed to mumble out between gritted teeth. God, he was really great at saying the wrong things sometimes.

She hadn’t witnessed the tail end of his pain, running away like that for her mentality’s sake, but now she could hear him from the kitchen and peeked out. He probably needed some sort of pain relief, too. It was a good thing that Cerise had set up her single serve coffee maker, because she really needed coffee right then. She grabbed what she needed and added water and let it do its thing.

Cerise didn't really have much in the way of actual medicine. Her parents were firm believers in natural remedies (or rather her mom scared her dad on board with it). She wasn't sure if he even liked hot tea or not, but that was what she had. It was easy enough to do, so while she waited for the coffee, she brewed some green tea and added a large amount of ginger into it. Cerise was sure it wasn't going to taste so great, but the ginger should help with the muscle aches somewhat at least.

She set up her coffee how she liked it and grabbed it in one hand while she had the tea in another. Careful not to spill it, she slowly made her way back into her living room and put her cup down before handing him his. "This...isn't going to taste the greatest, but it should help with soreness. "

He’d been trying not to focus on the pain, but now Vanderwood's heart was melting again. Once again, she was taking care of him, and he was totally unprepared. "Thank you..." He sniffed the tea she'd handed him, and it smelled strongly like ginger. Well...if she said it would help, maybe it would. Normally, he wouldn’t eat or drink anything he hadn’t had a hand in making himself, but it was Cerise, and she wasn’t trying to poison him.

It didn't seem like it was too hot, so he could probably get a good-sized gulp down without burning himself. Vanderwood took a breath before doing just that. It definitely didn't taste that great, and it was too hot to gulp again too quickly, so he had to wait a minute before he downed the rest. Yup. Not his favorite taste, but he set the cup aside and it did feel like he was relaxing a little more. "That...I think it actually did help." Vanderwood, as a British man, did _unironically_ enjoy tea, although…usually with a better flavor.

Cerise watched him while he tried to down the ginger tea. It was something her mom did for her when she complained about pain, though most of the time she would just rather deal with the pain than the taste of the ginger. She nursed at her coffee after sitting on the floor in front of the couch. It would have been nice to keep cuddling, but she didn't want to do anything to cause him any further pain; he needed to rest. "I'm glad...I thought it might. Sorry I don't have any actual medicine. Parents aren't a fan. " The TV was on, but she wasn't paying much attention to it anymore. Instead, she took to writing in her blog and updating her social medias, only occasionally glancing up when she heard something mildly interesting.

Vanderwood felt oddly lonely with her not in his arms, but she was sitting right in front of him, so he was just being ridiculous. She had gotten on her phone, probably doing all of her postings and such. That reminded him he had his own stuff to look at now. She'd accepted his friend request on Fakebook, so he decided to start there and see what she was up to. When he opened his phone, his eyes grew wide. Way too many notifications, and way too many friend requests. He went through and accepted the one he recognized, Seven, and decided to leave the rest alone for the time being.

There was a number 22 over this little message looking box which he clicked on. He was thinking it was kind of nice just sitting here quietly with Cerise like they had when they'd been alone in their hotel room after they'd started dating. He'd really missed just watching her, which maybe was weird, but she was so breathtakingly beautiful that he really couldn't help it. His phone pinged and now the little icon said 23 even though it was already open. Vanderwood clicked around the messages. Seven being an idiot, which he ignored and just asked if he and his brother were doing okay before moving on to the next set of messages.

He shifted uncomfortably in the couch. A request to hook up, another request, another. Clearly, he should have had Fakebook while he was in his crazy sex haze, because this was too easy. It made him a little sick thinking about, the fact that there was a time he would have taken these women up on their offer. His eyes flitted to look at Cerise before he swiped through to another message.

Okay, so, boobs. He had not been expecting that and swiped to the next conversation so fast only to be confronted with more boobs. Vanderwood was inwardly panicking a little, his face blanching as he looked up at Cerise. Of course, she couldn't see what he was seeing, but now he was just done with his messages.

Would she be irritated if he asked for her help in getting rid of them? Because...it really wasn't a good idea for him to have those around. It wasn't that he was getting turned on, but he was a little worried about if he got stressed enough that the temptation was there. He could easily create a program later to filter all of this out, but if she knew how to turn off the messages already…then that was all he really needed.

"Hey...shortcake." Probably it would be best to just come right out with it, so she didn't think he was trying to hide it from her or anything, but he was fumbling with finding the words. "I uh...There's a bit of a problem with my messages. Do you think you could help me?" God, he hoped she wouldn't ask specifically what the problem was, because he had a feeling the wrong words would come out of his mouth.

Cerise was a bit absorbed, initially giving a simple, "Hmm?" She didn't look up from her phone until he mentioned that there had been something wrong. Now she leaned back and looked at him, her face upside down. He looked mildly concerned, so she grabbed for his phone and took a look. "Oh." So, he was already getting inappropriate pictures. Whoever this woman was...those were clearly fake.

Okay, great, so she hadn't asked, but now she had taken his phone and was looking right at the messages he had been sent. If his face could go any paler...Still, Cerise seemed incredibly un-phased, which had his eyebrows furrowing.

Honestly, Cerise wasn't surprised he was getting these already, she got her fair share of them, too and just tended to ignore or block them. "So...Watch what I do." She positioned the phone where they could both see and demonstrated how to block someone. Cerise figured that's what he wanted, anyways. "I get those all the time." She opened her messages and handed Vanderwood her phone, so he could see just how many she tended to get. "Usually women are a bit more erm...reserved. Guess those just couldn't resist mister Vanderhottie."

At least the system of blocking seemed incredibly simple, but then she showed him her phone. Vanderwood had known she got the occasional creep, but not just how many occasional creeps. He didn't like it at all, and he liked it even less when he actually could see just how many pictures she was getting. Vanderwood's eyebrow twitched. Nope. That didn't just make him angry, he felt just a little bit dangerous. Her comment about him wasn't even heard, he was too busy trying to figure out a way to make sure none of the men who were sending her messages like this would ever dare try it again, blocked or not. Really, he was being ridiculous, but he was injured and irritated. Vanderwood bit his tongue and took a deep breath before handing her phone back to her. "That's...that's a normal thing for you?"

Cerise noticed how uncomfortable he seemed to be but shrugged and took her phone back from him. "Pretty normal...I get a lot. You should see my blocked list. "She laughed nervously, not wanting to further upset him. When she had first gotten one, she was pretty freaked out, but it had become the norm. She was kind of numb to it now. "It happens to some of my friends too. I've just kinda accepted it as part of having a popular account."

His eyebrow was still twitching, but he just nodded. "I guess, but I still don't like it." Some sort of program would have to be implemented to delete, block, and give some sort of punishment to the sender _and very soon_. "You think I do?" Cerise had raised her eyebrow at him, pushing his phone towards him again, and Vanderwood took his phone back from her with a sigh.

It wasn't like he could control the internet, and she was blocking them, so really, it was just an annoyance. After a few moments of silence, he decided maybe he should look up how to say, ‘Will you marry me’ in French, but he wasn't sure if he could trust the robots to give him the correct pronunciation. Still, he couldn't just ask her how to say that...but maybe something similar? "Hey, shortcake, how do you say, 'wWll you go out with me' in French?’"

She had started to edit some selfies she had taken with stickers and filters before she looked back up from her phone, turning her head to see him. His question was...confusing to say the least. It was a strange thing to ask, considering they were already going out...Weren't they? " 'Iras-tu sortir avec moi...'" She answered slowly with careful enunciation. "But erm...why do you ask? Aren't we already...?"

He hadn't thought of that. That was really smart of him. Vanderwood floundered around in his head trying to think of something. "Oh...well...of course, but...I just...wanted to ask in French..." He was cheesy all the time lately, so hopefully she would just take that as his excuse. Finally, his cheesiness was good for something other than looking like an idiot. "Um...Iras-tu sortir avec moi, ma moitie’?" Vanderwood tested the words slowly, glad that at least his delicacy with trying to remember them and their pronunciation wasn’t an offense that could be criticized. As confused as she was, she probably wouldn't be able to figure out the real reason he was asking, and that was good.

Cerise raised an eyebrow at him and then laughed. He could be such a dork sometimes. "I dunno~" She grinned at him and poked him gently. "I tend to get myself into a lot of trouble. I was kinda kidnapped from my house once, you know.”

Vanderwood was blushing like an idiot now just from the way she was looking at him. "Well...You're not wrong..."  She seemed to have believed that he really was just an idiot. And in a way...yeah, he had to admit he was. He moved to take a seat on the floor next to her, happy to find that he didn't feel nearly as sore moving after the tea than he'd felt earlier. Vanderwood simply couldn't help but want to be close to her. Cerise felt a twinge of worry when he started to move, knowing he wasn't completely devoid of pain. Still, he was a grown man and more than twice her size, so she wasn't about to stop him as he took a seat on the floor next to her.

He nuzzled his nose against hers, and Cerise felt relieved when he didn't seem to be in a state of pain and affectionately nuzzled back.  Vanderwood’s blush just got worse. "But I hope you'll seriously consider it." It felt silly playing along, but it also gave him that fuzzy feeling in his chest that he enjoyed so much. "Hmm~" Cerise pulled back and dramatically gave him a once-over, clicking her tongue and holding her chin like she was judging and debating about something. "I guess you'll do. Plus. you're kinda cute! I think I'll keep you." She teased while laughing. It was fun when he decided to play along with her being silly, and it made her chest feel warm in the best way.

Wait, why did he actually kind of feel nervous when she did that? Vanderwood watched her, unable to understand how this amazing woman had become his or even wanted to be. "Hopefully I'm worth keeping then." He smiled, pushing some of her hair gently behind her ear. "Je' taime, Cerise." Love was a funny thing, so new to him, and yet he was absolutely certain that he would be with her for the rest of his life. When he became such a cheesy sap was a mystery to him, too, but he was so happy that it didn't matter.

"More than worth it." She scooted closer to him and kissed his cheek. "Je t'aime aussi~" Her kiss to his cheek left a little warm feeling behind. They sat together quietly for a little while. Cerise carefully leaned against him for a bit, just enjoying his company before she realized that maybe she should attempt to make them something to eat. Really, she hadn't had to seriously cook before; she was mostly limited to heating things up and opening packages, but that worked for when you were eating alone, not with your boyfriend and certainly not with your _injured_ boyfriend.

It was a chance to show him that she could actually act like a normal woman and do normal woman things. She was an adult, after all. "I think I'm going to go out for a bit and grab some groceries to cook." _Or try to..._ Cerise stood up to brush herself off. Now, she could use her own money too, since she had access to her purse again. "Stay here and rest, I'll be back soon. "

He was starting to feel a little hungr,y so when she mentioned getting some groceries to cook, he was only too happy. That didn’t mean he wanted her to go alone, though. "I can come with you." As good as a rest sounded, he didn’t want her out and about without him. Vanderwood had gotten way too used to watching over her practically every moment. As he made a move to stand up, he groaned, the muscle in his leg tightening up hard. He had to sit back down, sinking into the couch again, not wanting to rest on the floor. "Maybe I won't...but be careful." Was he really getting anxious over her taking a trip to the grocery store? Well, she had been attacked right in this very house.

Cerise had let out a nervous chuckle when he attempted to move. She knew that he was in no position to come with her, as much as he wanted to. It was touching that even in his current state he wanted to watch over her. She'd just have to be extra careful, so she wouldn't have to worry him. "Don't worry, I'll be so super careful!" Cerise had never had the opportunity really where she was taller than him, even just barely., so she moved to kiss him on top of the head while he sat down on the couch. Even with her standing up and him sitting, he was almost as tall as she was.

If it weren’t for the fact that she needed to get going, maybe she would have pouted and complained about it, just to have him make some silly compliment. That made her feel warm and fuzzy. Obviously, she needed to get back quickly, so she could be with him again. "I'll be back soon~" Cerise ran to her room and threw on a heavier jacket, since it was pretty cold outside, as well as her purse. She still wasn’t about to put on pants, though. Cerise much preferred her skirt, and the grocery store was only a few blocks away. She could totally manage that with no trouble.

Check out my website. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	17. High as a Kite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems Vanderwood isn't the only one injured again, and it brings up some heavy concerns he's been having.

***Just a couple days until my birthday, and here is your update for the week. Obviously, my birthweek has to be filled with Cherrywood goodness. There is a new deleted chapter this week, which you can find out about through the link to my website at the end of this chapter. It’s called ‘Preparations Apart,’ and is all about Vandy gettin that ring and there are shower selfies involved. ~Let's Connect! FFC***

Cerise had been grocery shopping with her mother plenty of times, so it wasn't something that was completely new to her. While walking to the store, she tried to think about stuff her mom would make. Her mother was such a good cook, and she regretted not learning anything from her now. Cerise would always brush her off whenever she offered, insisting that when she was on her own, she would just order food. She didn't expect to ever want to cook for someone, to care for them. Looking back, Cerise felt that she was a total brat to her parents. Maybe she would call them soon, they were probably worried about her, since she hadn't really been keeping in contact after the move.

Strangely, as much as she’d wanted to get away from them, she also found herself missing them a great deal. Apologizing to them was something that she was going to have to do, as much as she wasn't looking forward to it. She realized now that they were just trying to raise her right...not that she’d turned out to be a particularly bad adult. Although, maybe if she’d paid attention more she would be a little more mature and put together.

Before she knew it, she had arrived at the grocery store. She had spent so much time thinking about what a little shit she had been to her parents that she had totally forgotten to formulate what she should get to cook. Cerise shrugged and just figured she'd figure it out along the way. Chicken was easy enough, right? All she had to do was put some spices on it and throw it in the oven. So easy! The sides would be the hardest. She shopped around and picked out anything that looked like it could go together. Some of the vegetables she had no idea even what they were, but she could probably make a pretty bomb soup thing if she just threw it all together. That's how stew worked, right? Could you even serve that with chicken? Oh well, food was food.

Luckily, the store had a simple medicine section where she picked up some actual pain killers and hot/cold packs. They would probably be a lot more help to him than the stuff her parents had her keep around. When she was satisfied with what she had picked out, she went to the counter to pay for it. While the clerk was checking her out, she sent a quick text to him to let him know that she was okay and that she was about to head back.

In retrospect, she should have remembered that she had to walk back to her place. She struggled to carry all the bags, so it took probably twice as long to get back than it did to actually get there. Hopefully, that didn't worry him too terribly much. He'd be okay once she got home, anyways.

After what seemed like forever, she arrived at her door and was somehow able to get it open. "I'm back!" She loudly proclaimed as she headed to the kitchen to dump off her supplies. Before she did anything, she dug into her bags to retrieve the medicine she’d bought and fixed a glass of water. "Here, I brought you something back. It should help you a lot more than the ginger tea." Cerise gave him the bottle, so he could decide how much he needed. "I'm going to go start cooking~ Please relax!"

Vanderwood had laid on the couch trying not to be too anxious. He'd sent Seven out to do things before, and that had been lightly worrying but this was much different. It wasn't that he didn't trust her to be safe, he was just so used to being with her and couldn't bear the thought of losing her. Was he just going insane? Now that she was home, the stress melted off him instantly. "Welcome back, mon amour." The pills and water were a welcome relief, and that fuzzy feeling from her caring for him had him smiling. "Thank you." He took the pills and downed the water, nodding at her request for him to relax.

Cerise wasted no time getting back to the kitchen, where she put the hot/cold packs in her freezer for him to use later. Where to start...? She figured that maybe she should start the chicken first, so she went to a labelled box in her kitchen and pulled out some spices that her parents had bought for her, since she had no clue what to get. Cerise opened a few of the bottles and sniffed them. Some were stronger than others, but in the end, they ended up tasting good on anything, right? She shrugged, and after prepping the chicken, she dumped various spices on it, not really reading the labels.

The packaging said, "giblets included". What even were giblets? Must have been something special, she guessed. After turning her oven on, she popped the chicken in to cook. Wow, this was so easy already! Next, she chopped up some of the vegetables she had bought and threw them into a pot all together, adding water and some more spices. She remembered her mom putting something in stews to make them thicker...What was it? Flour? That had to be it. She added a generous amount of flour to the 'stew' and added the lid. So easy.

It wasn't normal for Vanderwood not to be the one cooking. He'd been feeding himself and Seven for years. From the couch he watched her, furrowing his brows at what she was doing. Chicken and stew? She seemed a little unsure of herself, but surely, she knew what she was doing at least enough not to burn the house down. Vanderwood decided he needed to stretch and got up, doing just that, although very slowly and carefully. He made his way over to the kitchen. "I know you told me to relax, but I need to stand for a bit..." Vanderwood nuzzled the top of her head and gave it a quick kiss. "Would you mind if I helped just a little?" He just couldn't help it, this was usually his job.

Cerise pouted, "Helping is not resting. I have this." She made the motion to shoo him away. Things were going so well so far. It was nice that he wanted to help her, but all she really needed to do was stir the stew periodically. Being adorable wasn't going to earn him any brownie points. As if the universe was trying to prove her wrong, smoke started to come from the oven. "What in the..." Cerise opened the door, and the chicken was literally on fire. She panicked and opened and closed the door a few times which only fanned the flames, making them flare up. Bad choice.

She was fussing at him, and he was about to open his mouth to fuss a bit back but then she was opening and closing the oven, fanning the flames inside. Vanderwood looked around for a fire extinguisher, but of course, there wasn't one. He was quick to reach over and turn the oven off, moving her out of the way and holding the door closed. Making sure that the oven stayed closed would remove the oxygen it needed to keep the flames going.

At least he seemed to know what to do, so Cerise moved out of the way to let Marion do his thing. Now she looked towards the pot on top of the stove. The stew was still--nope. There was an ominous smoke coming from that, too. She groaned in frustration and picked the pot up by the handles to move it to another burner in hopes of keeping it from burning further. Cerise hadn't realized that the lid wasn't on very well, and it slid off onto her hand, causing her to yelp in pain and drop the pot onto the burner (which luckily didn't spill much). She ran to the sink to run water over the angry redness on her hand. Okay...so maybe cooking was harder than she thought. Oh...and her oven was kinda on fire. Great.

He noticed almost immediately as he’d contained the flames inside of the stove, that Cerise had managed to burn herself with the lid of the pot. _Shit fuck._ Vanderwood couldn't deal with the potential stew problem and help her, so the newest hazard came first. Now he turned off the stove top, using a cloth to push the pan away from the hot portion of the stove. He felt a little sick as he turned toward her where she was treating her burn by the sink. Seeing her in pain was not something he had any interest in. "Let me see, love..." Vanderwood carefully took her hand away from the water and examined the burn, hissing softly. It wasn't horrible, but it definitely needed some treatment. His mind was too busy to notice any pain, and he was on painkillers, so now he moved, picking her up bridal style.

After she’d taken her hand from the water, she’d immediately felt an intense burning sensation. Marion seemed to know what he was doing, but he was still injured, and she wasn’t exactly pleased with him taking it upon himself to intervene right now. Cerise wanted to protest being picked up, but she ended up brushing the burn against something and hissed in pain. She felt terrible that he was so injured and fussing over something like a burn that she had stupidly brought upon herself. He set her on the couch. "Do not move." He didn't need her getting herself more hurt, pressing a long kiss to her forehead before going to his bag and rummaging for the first aid kit he had brought.

Vanderwood found what he needed quickly. He hadn't brought up the kit earlier, since it was really only for emergencies, but this counted. After grabbing bandages and ointment, he walked back over to the couch and sat down on the floor in front of her, taking her hand again with a gentle touch. He gently brushed his lips over her fingertips, hoping to cheer her some. "How badly does it hurt?" The ointment should help some with that, but if it was bad enough, she'd probably need some painkillers, too.

"It hurts bad, but..." She leaned forward and kissed him, short and sweet, "I think I can manage thanks to you." Cerise's hand was hurting quite a bit, but she didn't want to agitate Marion's injuries by having him worry over her for something that was her fault. He was so much worse off than she was. If she could keep a happy face on, he wouldn't notice. His hand tightened on her wrist for a moment, and she had to cover a wince, playing it off as a wink.

That little kiss was great, but as his hand tightened on her wrist, she seemed to attempt to hide a wince. He was getting frustrated and irritated, and she was lying to him about the pain. She hated pain, and he knew from experience that her tolerance for it was incredibly low. Well, he simply wasn’t going to let her play it off and was going to take care of her. Vanderwood bit his tongue to relax before taking the ointment and putting a generous amount on his fingers then applying it very carefully, not wanting to hurt her further. "This will numb some of the pain and make it easier to bandage."

The bandage came on next over the ointment. He wrapped it slowly around her hand before tying it off and kissing the bandage over the burn. It was stupid, but it seemed like a good thing to do. His pain was starting to eat at him just a little from sitting in this position, but he needed to get up anyway and calculate a dosage of painkillers for her height and weight.

She didn't know exactly why, but when he kissed the bandage, it made her flush hard. The gesture was so sweet that she felt like her heart was swelling up and threatening to explode into a million tiny pieces. He kissed her soon after, sliding his hand along her cheek, which she was thankful for. He wouldn't have the chance to see right then how much of a mess she was at such a small gesture. He pulled away from her, and it left her heart beating much faster than normal...It almost made her forget about the pain on her hand.

After the kiss, which he’d needed…Well, he wasn’t sure why he’d needed it, but he just had, Vanderwood made his way to the kitchen with his empty glass to fill it with water, taking the bottle of pills she'd given him earlier with him. "Shortcake...I need your exact height and weight, so I can give you some pills." Her fluttery and pleasant feeling was a little short lived when he asked his next question. "You want...what? I'm not telling you my weight." Didn't he know that was something you did _not_ ask a woman? Cerise twisted her body away from him, frowning with a huff while she carefully crossed her arms to not disturb the bandage.

Vanderwood raised an eyebrow at her as she refused to tell him. What was wrong with her weight? She couldn't be that underweight, her body seemed perfectly fine on that front. Maybe that wasn't a good thing to be thinking about when she was irritating him. He loved this woman, but holy...he just needed her weight. Vanderwood sighed and put his hands on the counter, trying to just breathe.

Was it his imagination or was he even more needy for her when he was irritated now than he had been before they'd slept together? No...it wasn't his imagination, so he'd need to be more careful. "Shortcake...I just need to give you some medication...If you don't tell me, I'll have to guess, and I might under-dose you." He was bad at guessing weight, considering most weight felt like nothing to him to lift.

Cerise turned her head just a little bit, so she could see him out of the corner of her eye. He seemed kind of irritated? She shrugged and turned away again. " _Marion_." she quipped back, "No. I'm not telling you my weight. I don't want medicine." To make her point clear, she turned towards him and stuck her tongue out before she turned back and went to typing something on her phone, wincing when she figured out that flexing her thumb hurt.

This was bad, terrible. How was she supposed to keep up with things if she couldn't text right? Cerise groaned and pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them while she rested her head on her knees. Maybe if she relaxed, the pain would go away. She thought briefly about drinking some of the ginger tea, but the thought of it made her stomach lurch. Cerise would rather suffer through it.

He bit his tongue. She was going to keep fighting him unless he found some sort of leverage. Vanderwood watched as she attempted to get on her phone, and that was the opening he needed. "If you want to be able to text, you're going to need some meds." If there was one thing that was more important to her than being stubborn, it was her social media.

"So, what's it gonna be, _Cerise._ " Vanderwood repeated her name the way she'd said his with the tiniest of smirks. Damn it, she was attractive when she was fighting him, and it felt damn good to feel like you were winning. What he should really be focused on was getting her medicated. God, he really was an ass sometimes. He bit his tongue again.

She tensed up at his words. He did have a point...Her honey-colored eyes looked at her phone longingly, and then she turned her head towards him again, pouting. Her followers did need her, but at the same time, it was rude to ask her weight. Weren't there directions on the bottle? She didn't know. For whatever reason, her mom wouldn't let her take normal medicine. She may have explained it once or twice, but honestly, Cerise hadn't listened. Her mom was just kinda weird. "...Vanderjerk."

Cerise mumbled before sighing and straightening herself up. "I'm..." She paused and looked him dead in the eyes, "...I'm five foot four and ninety-two pounds." Cerise had given him her actual weight, but as for her height...there was no way she was going to admit how tall she was. He was so massive that maybe he wouldn't notice. Everything looked small to him. Who really wanted to admit that they were just under five feet tall?

Okay, the 92 pounds he could believe, but her height was an outright lie. Vanderwood was really trying to breathe, not wanting to listen to the little voice that was nagging in his head that he needed some sort of something to calm down. This really wasn't so bad; she wasn't that irritating. It was probably just the combination of dealing with the stress of the fire as well as his injuries that was making it worse. "You're lying to me about your height." He said it as a simple statement, choosing to believe her on her weight, because he really didn't want more fuss. With her alcohol tolerance, she probably had plenty of tolerance for this, too, and that gave him a little bit of leeway.

Crap. He caught her...of course he would. He was a friggin' secret agent, and he wasn't at all stupid. Too stupidly good looking for his own good…but not dumb. Telling him something wrong again would probably only serve to irritate him further, and as much as that amused her, it probably wasn't a good idea while he was still trying to recover. Besides, she really wanted to be able to use her phone like normal.

Medicine was supposed to help...right? Cerise kept her eyes on Marion, silently challenging him and still pouting. Maybe he would just drop it. They stayed like that for about a minute, but Marion's gaze never wavered. Damn, he was really good at this... Finally, Cerise lowered her eyes to the side and mumbled, "...I'm four foot eleven."

She was really attempting to stare him down. His tiny, injured girlfriend was attempting to stare him down. Vanderwood nearly felt blush rising into his cheeks as he’d met her gaze but kept his eyes on her. Not now. He had to get her some medicine. That pout...He wanted to kiss it right off of her. Jesus, her reply was more than welcome, although he had to suppress a snort. So, she was even shorter than he'd thought. After a pause, he nodded. "Okay. Four foot eleven and 92 pounds."

Vanderwood checked the back of the pill bottle for exact dosage on each pill before deciding to give her one and a half. That should do it for her, just to the point where she could move her hand without extreme pain. He didn't want her too numb, or she might hurt it more, but she'd at least be able to text. Vanderwood took the glass and the pill dosage and brought it to her. "Here you are, Cerise." As she took it, he looked towards the kitchen and the mess that would need to be cleaned up. "Do you have a hair tie I could borrow?" Generally, he liked to clean with his hair up, that way he didn't have to push it back and end up getting it wet or getting cleaner in it, which was a pain.

She took the glass and medicine from him, "Thanks, _Marion_." Cerise stared at the pills. She was supposed to swallow these things without choking? Cerise was about to try when he had asked her for a hair tie. "Yeah...hold on." She got up and disappeared into her bathroom for a second before returning with one, and instead of just handing it to him, she stretched it and shot it at him. It would have been funny, but she forgot about her hand, which now throbbed in pain...yeah. The medicine was going to be needed.

Vanderwood was caught off guard by her shooting the hair tie at him, but it just hit him in the arm and he bent to pick it up, peeking over at her to see her nursing her hand. His stomach turned a little. He really didn't like to see her in pain. It seemed every time he did, it was his fault, too. Cerise grabbed the pills again and examined them. _You can do it..._ She gave herself a small pep talk before throwing them in her mouth and taking a big swig of water. Cerise was happy that she didn't choke. It would probably take a little while to kick in, so she settled on watching whatever her boyfriend was currently doing.

He’d stayed bent as he put his hair up before standing back up properly and tightening the tie, so it would stay. Thankfully, the pills were working really well for him, so he would be able to handle the cleaning, but obviously she wouldn't have anything else to cook, so he'd have to figure out how to order something. Vanderwood absentmindedly ran his fingers over the tattoo on the back of his neck, the familiar feeling of the raised serial number and his last name not really comforting but just something he tended to do whenever his hair was up.

After some searching, he managed to find an app where he could order pizza, and he just got a cheese, since he didn't know what else to do. It was going to take a good bit of work to exercise all that crap off after he recovered properly, but it was better than either of them cooking right now. Vanderwood looked over at Cerise to double check that she'd taken the pills. "Those should kick in pretty quickly.” He raised an eyebrow at the way she seemed to be zoning out. What was up with that?

Cerise had been so totally mesmerized by him putting up his hair that she didn't hear what he had said. She had just been blankly staring at him for who knows how long. "Oh uhh...yeah." That seemed like the right thing to say, and now he was putting his phone away, going into the kitchen and starting on cleaning the pot. When he turned around, he’d given her a glimpse of a tattoo she had never seen before on the back of his neck. It made sense, since Vanderwood always had his hair down.

Somehow, the unfamiliar sight of him having his hair up made her heart beat just a little faster as pink dusted her cheeks. This man was gorgeous. Cerise was rudely interrupted from her thoughts by a rather painful stomach cramp followed by a few smaller ones. It wasn't a big deal; she decided that it was probably because she hadn't eaten anything that her stomach was upset. She looked towards him to watch him clean. Was it just her or was it getting a little harder to focus...? It was probably just her hunger speaking. "Sorry I...kinda ruined dinner."

Vanderwood could feel her eyes on him as he cleaned and turned his head to look at her as she spoke. His girlfriend was a little odd sometimes, but he loved her tremendously. "Don't worry about it, shortcake. I ordered some pizza. Never cooked before?" Her face had that hint of blush, and that caused one of his own.

When he said he had ordered pizza, it was like music to her ears. She was familiar with pizza. Pizza was safe and didn't spontaneously combust. "I…no. Not really..." Cerise liked to pretend that she was a good cook, though. She would take pictures of her mom's dishes and put them up on her instafram, cleverly omitting that it wasn't actually her who’d cooked it.

She was still looking at him funny, and Vanderwood furrowed his brows. "Is...something wrong?" Her stomach was still cramping up, and she was beginning to feel nauseated. "No, I think I'm just hungry. I'm gonna...lay down here for a sec." Cerise straightened herself out to lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling as she rubbed the area over her stomach that hurt. Hopefully, the pizza would be there soon.

He still had his brows furrowed as he watched her. Was something up with her? Vanderwood sighed and busied himself with cleaning, hoping the pizza would get there sooner rather than later, so that she could get some food. Her pills weren’t necessary to be taken with food, but it would probably help. After a while, he managed to clean out the pot and moved on to the oven, setting off the smoke alarm as the leftover smoke billowed out. Vanderwood coughed and reached up to press the button to turn off the alarm.

"Sorry about that shortcake." Cerise couldn't be bothered to react to the smoke alarm or his voice. She was feeling woozy, and it was like her mind was wandering off into weird places. Cerise thought for a second that she was feeling incredibly happy, but she didn't know why. It was strange; she was lying down, but it felt like she was floating on the ocean, on a boat. Everything else around her was cloudy and hard to see.

Vanderwood was caught up in what he was doing, going back to cleaning out the stove, his arms ending up covered in black. The doorbell rang, and he figured that must be the pizza. His eyes traveled to where she was lying. He wasn't about to make her get it, not with how zoned out with apparent hunger she was. The pizza boy looked at him strangely as his eyes saw the black all over his arms and hands. Vanderwood just tipped the kid and took the pizza with before closing the door and setting the pizza on the side of the couch.

He certainly couldn’t sit down and eat with her until he got this black muck off his arms, his skin already crawling. "Gimme a second to clean up. You just eat, alright?" To his announcement to eat, she just gave him a non-committal “Hnnn” as she continued to lay there, unmoving and staring at the ceiling. What was up with her? She was just lying there. Had she tired herself out? Probably...with the stress he could certainly believe it.

It was quick work as Vanderwood washed off his arms and hands before walking over to the couch, she was short enough that all he had to do was pick up her feet and pop them on his lap. "Want me to hand you a slice, or?" Was she basically gone to the world, or was it just his imagination? She really had gotten tired out. Considering nearly lighting the house on fire and getting burned, it wasn’t so surprising.

Cerise gave him the same answer as earlier. It kind of seemed like the ceiling was getting closer and closer, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She couldn't really bring herself to care about anything at the moment, so _let_ the ceiling crush her. As she turned her head slightly, she could see the wall coming at her, too. Oh good, she was going to be crushed from all four sides. Cerise shrugged and turned to stare at the ceiling again. That bastard. She'd find a way to get her revenge if it smushed her. Cerise reached up to swat at the ceiling to see how close it was now. She couldn't feel it. Oh well.

Vanderwood was so confused. Why the Hell was she acting like that? He bit his tongue, and then it slowly dawned on him. He'd calculated for her height and weight, and he really doubted she'd lied to him, but she was high as a kite. Vanderwood's heart slammed hard in his chest as he moved to pick her up and place her in his lap carefully, looking into her eyes to see dilated pupils. High as a fucking kite.

Oh. Now she was moving on her own. How strange. "Shortcake...what day is it?" She tried to focus in on what was being said, the voice that said it. It was...It was Marion. God...What had she done now? Instead of an actual answer to his question about the day, all he got from her was a, "Yes". Vanderwood was realizing that her tolerance for meds was clearly nothing like her tolerance for alcohol. Why hadn't she told him? She felt limp and heavy in his arms as he held her, and panic set in hard.

That heavy feeling...it wasn't quite like Caleb's body had been, but...he'd gotten his girlfriend high. Vanderwood needed to get some food and water in her fast. He fumbled with the pizza box, so worried that he couldn't quite think straight. Vanderwood bit his tongue. If he was going to take care of her, he needed to be calm. After a slow breath, he managed to get his hands on some pizza. "I'm going to feed you, okay, Cerise?" There was more talking, but she couldn't zero in on it. It was like her mind was taking a vacation, hidden somewhere deep, dark, and unreachable. What she did know was that she was hearing Marion's voice. It was soothing. The best voice.

He cradled her carefully in one arm as he brought the pizza to her lips. "Here you go, shortcake, open up." Vanderwood nuzzled her gently, feeling like he was about to start crying for the second time that day. What if when she came out of this she decided she liked it? No...Cerise wasn't like that. He couldn't let himself think like that. She wasn't like that. Why was he even thinking like that? His arm tightened around her as he managed to get her to eat the pizza. "Let's get you some water..." He didn't want to put her down, but he had to, so he laid her down on the couch and went to get the water. "Don't move darling..." If she even could move.

So, she guessed she was eating now. What was it...? Pizza? That's what it tasted like. Oh, right...Marion. He said something about pizza. She was happy to eat it, though it felt like she was doing so way too slowly for her liking. It didn't matter, she was done now, and the ceiling was coming for her again. Cerise closed her eyes and anticipated its arrival. Goodbye, cruel world.

Vanderwood laid her back down on the couch before he went to get her the water, trying hard not to let his anxiety over the current situation overtake him. His muscles were starting to grow tense, making the soreness reappear despite the pills he was on. How did he always manage to cause terrible things to happen to her? The person he loved most in the world was cursed by him. He brought the water back to her, sitting on the floor as he helped her to drink it, stroking her hair softly and kissing her forehead.

"Everything's going to be okay ma moitié." Was he telling her or himself? He didn't know at this point. "Everything...okay." She repeated and leaned against him with her eyes closed. Cerise felt incredibly heavy and tired. Her limbs might as well have been lead, and her brain felt scrambled. A nap is what she needed. After a minute or two, she was out like a light, sleeping off the rest of the high.

He sat there on the floor next to the couch as she slept, stroking her hair and humming softly. What else was he supposed to do? Vanderwood felt useless, a feeling he'd only become more familiar with now that she was around. "Je'taime..." He kissed the side of her head softly. To pass the time, he started telling her stories. Obviously, she was asleep, but what the Hell else could he do?

Vanderwood talked about the pranks Caleb used to pull and then about meeting Seven for the first time and how difficult it had been when he'd started acting like Caleb. It was a good way to pass the time, he thought. He followed that up by telling her about how much he loved her, telling her everything, that he wanted to marry her and keep her by his side forever, even though he wasn't sure he deserved to have her anymore. Did it seem like she was finally waking up? Good...

Cerise stirred from her nap, bringing her hands up to rub her eyes before she sat up and stretched her arms out. Man, she must have been pretty tired to have fallen asleep like that. She opened her eyes and searched the room, finding her boyfriend sitting on the floor beside the couch. That was...confusing a bit. "Hey, dummy...there's like an entire couch here. Why would you sit on the floor with your injured butt?" Cerise poked at him as she talked. She felt like she had a headache and remembered her stomach cramping up. That must have been why she had lied down in the first place.

Wonderful as ever. Vanderwood snorted, at least she seemed back to herself. "I was taking care of you. You didn't tell me your tolerance for meds was so low. I…got you high....How do you feel?" Come to think of it, his ass and leg really were hurting now, as well as the rest of him. His meds had worn off, too. Mostly, he was just panicking that she'd say something along the lines of 'Can I have some more?' That was such a stupid thought, but it wasn’t one he could help. His tongue was even sore at this point from all the biting. So far, she didn't seem to remember much, at least.

Her face scrunched up. He was taking care of her? She got high? Off of _that_ amount of pain medicine...Did that explain the grogginess and headache? Now that she thought about it..."I'm fine, but...maybe that's what my mom was talking about when she told me not to take medicine. I just kinda thought she was a freak." Cerise scooted over and patted the couch for him to sit next to her and--Oh my God, was that pizza? She hopped up and grabbed some before sitting back down and happily munching on it, despite the fact that it was somewhat cold.

Vanderwood groaned and rubbed his face. The relief that she was okay and didn't remember much had only helped so much to loosen the tenseness in his body. Looking at her now, he wanted to pull her against him and take what he needed. That made him sick. Cerise was so much more than that, along with the fact that she was in no state for that herself either. Vanderwood pushed off from his place on the floor, removing the hair tie from his hair now and shaking it out. Maybe he should go for a run...No...He wasn't physically capable of that right now. He agitatedly flopped down onto the couch. Vanderwood still hadn't eaten, but right now he didn't care. He needed to calm down, figure out what was going on with his head.

Cerise glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Was he...annoyed? She got back up and grabbed some more pizza, handing it to him. Maybe he just needed to eat. She was feeling quite guilty about the whole thing, though. Really, she should have listened to her mother more instead of regarding her words as not being valuable. There was obviously more there than just her being an overprotective mother, and Cerise felt terrible that she had just brushed her off. "Hey," She started before scooting a little closer and putting a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry if I worried you. I honestly didn't remember..."

He took a deep breath as she touched him before he let it out, staring up at the ceiling. "You don't need to be sorry for anything, Cerise. I do." Vanderwood took a bite of the slice of pizza she'd given him. He wouldn’t have bothered if she hadn't handed it to him, but he might as well not further be an ass than he already was. He was really great at being an ass when he was like this. Vanderwood closed his eyes. "I'm sorry...I'm tired and injured and just overall stressed right now..." To anyone else he would have said nothing, but Cerise wasn't just anyone.

She couldn't help but feel that a lot of the reason he was stressed was because of her. If she had just remembered, if she hadn't almost set her kitchen on fire or burned herself...It was her fault no matter what he tried to say. Cerise got up and went to the kitchen to pull out the ice packs she had put in there hours before and walked back over to him. Vanderwood watched her, trying not to think how nice her legs looked, how beautiful she looked under him with her hair spilling around her. He bit his tongue even with the pizza still in his mouth. That wasn't even a possibility with how much pain he was in, but it was still completely not okay to be thinking about under the circumstances. She handed him some ice packs, and his heart just melted to mush. "This should help with the more serious spots...right?"

Why did she have to be taking care of him while he was thinking like this? While he was constantly causing her pain? She sat back down and gently leaned against his shoulder, nuzzling into it slightly. "If there's anything I can do or get for you...please just ask. I want you to rest. Don't hesitate to call me for even the smallest of things. " To make a point, she pointed ahead to a picture she had hung above her TV. "For instance, if you told me to go and fix that frame because it was just slightly crooked and was annoying you, I'd totally do it. Just ask."

"You're too good to me." _And for me._ He turned his head to nuzzle her hair, breathing in her heavenly scent. Cerise...Could he even let her go for her own good? Losing her wasn't on his list of things he ever wanted to do, but he did want to protect her. She grinned at him and nuzzled into him more. Being near him and having contact with him made her feel completely relaxed and at ease, like nothing was missing from her life. "Just think...I'll be even better once I learn to cook!" Cerise giggled and leaned up to press a small kiss to his cheek. "Just you wait~ I'll make the most awesome thing and it'll make you completely forget about the time I set the kitchen on fire!"

Why did she have to be so incredibly perfect? "Cerise..." His heart was floundering, and he didn't even know what to do with the thoughts in his head. Cerise felt like maybe something was a little...off with him. Maybe it was the stress or something on his mind. She didn't want to pry...well, she did want to pry, but she decided that since he said he would try to be more open with her, he'd come to her eventually with whatever it was that was bugging him. She'd just have to play the waiting game for a bit.

A portion of him was melting right into her, relaxing to her presence, another was panicking that he couldn't stay with her, that he would hurt her, and the final portion wanted him to...Vanderwood slid a hand along her cheek, down to hold her chin and kissed her deeply. The warmth of his hand on her cheek and then her chin as she anticipated his kiss spread throughout her entire being, and it made her heart swell with love and adoration for this man. He could have had literally anyone of his choosing, yet here he was kissing _her_ , staying with _her_.

He'd put behind his old habits, so he could be with her. There was no doubt in her mind that he was still struggling with it somewhat. She imagined how it would be if suddenly her social media was taken away from her. When she thought about it from that perspective...she felt so proud of him. He was doing so well and had gotten so far. Cerise put as much effort into their kiss as he had--she liked to think she was getting the hang of it.

Her lips and her love were what he had needed right now, even though his brain might be saying he needed other things too. Those parts, he was completely ignoring. They would need to talk, but right now, this was what he needed to truly relax, her in his arms, her lips against his. He pulled away slowly, locking eyes with her, his own probably showing some of his desire, desires that would go unfulfilled tonight, but also that unmistakable devotion.  Just that kiss had left her breathless when he pulled away.  As much as she wanted to continue, to go farther, she knew they couldn't. Judging by the look in his eyes, he felt the same way.

There was something else, too...it made happy to see it. It was such an intense gaze of so many emotions, that she wanted to etch it into her memory forever. She had no doubt that he could easily read her eyes, not only was he trained, but she wasn't exactly a closed book. Her love, adoration for him, her desire...she was sure that he could see it all. His breath hitched just looking at her, his Cerise. "I'm sure I'll forget before long..." Cerise couldn’t help but smile at him. "You probably will. Knowing my luck, I'll probably end up doing something a lot more stupid."

His heart clenched hard again. "Well...I'll have to teach you to cook, for sure." Should he really be planning long-term things with her right now? Vanderwood sighed and kissed the top of her head before moving the ice packs she'd given him around. They really were helping, and she was relaxing him slowly, even with that anxiety still there under the surface. Cerise was amazing like that. "I uh...Cerise...how's your burn?" It was getting hard not to just blurt out his thoughts as they plagued him. Cerise blinked and brought her hand up to examine it. She flexed her fingers a bit, and while it still hurt, it wasn't as bad as it initially was. "It's okay, it doesn't hurt that bad anymore. I think I'll live, Dr. Vanderwood, sir!" She joked with a laugh. "How are you doing, though?"

A smile broke the dreary look he'd had on his face. "I like that name..." Her next question had him internally battling with himself again, though, but what was he going to do? Let his anxiety fester? He'd promised to tell her things. "Physically...I'm just really sore...Cerise I...." His chest felt heavy. "I keep hurting you...Even when you're with me, I can't keep you safe." Vanderwood pushed his bangs back, trying to bite down some of the anxiety, so he could get his thoughts out.

"I'm not good for you. It's dangerous for you to be with me...and I should let you go..." There was so much pressure in his chest; it was unfamiliar to him. Just how much was this supposed to hurt? What would he do without the only happiness in his life? Could he even manage to let her go for her own safety? He wanted to be with her forever, wanted to marry her, grow old together...Maybe they could even start a family...maybe....She was light and life and breath to him now, taking that away, could he even survive it?

Cerise furrowed her brows as she listened to him. Was he...was he really telling her this? She could feel the anger and sadness bubbling up inside of her and tried to push it back down. He was coming to her with his feelings, after all. It wouldn't do to get angry at him for that. Still, it was hard to manage when these words were leaving his lips so easily. "Don't you think...that maybe I should have a say in that?" She spoke slowly and concisely. "If I wanted to leave...if I thought that you were a danger to me...I would have left a long time ago. I would have tried to escape."

Her hands grabbed at the cloth of her skirt, bunching the bottom of the fabric in her fists. She was trying so hard to remain calm, to not cry or go off on him. "I really...I don't give a damn whether or not you think you're good for me. That's my decision to make." Cerise let out a careful breath, trying to control her breathing. "I want to be with you. Ever since you came into my life, I felt like everything was right. There's been some missteps along the way, sure, and there's probably going to be plenty more. Don't you think...it makes life kind of exciting? Worth living? How boring would it be if nothing ever went wrong?"

She was angry, hurt, and he couldn't blame her. Vanderwood watched her as he always did, the pain in his chest not helped by the fact that he was hurting her again. But what she was saying to him, it made sense...It really did make sense, but could getting stabbed by a psycho killer really be just called a misstep?  He mulled over how to respond. It was new to him, discussing your feelings, and no wonder he hadn't done it before, because it was damn difficult and painful.

"You make life worth living." It was true, he'd just been going through the motions for years. He couldn't even remember a time that he was truly happy since Caleb's death, not until he found Cerise. "And I can't go back to living without you. That is a fact, but it doesn’t make it any easier knowing the way that I’ll hurt you over and over again." She tried to remain silent as her grip on her skirt loosened. He was finally spilling out his feelings to her, truly opening up. Marion looked troubled, but at least he was letting it out. Cerise couldn't understand completely how he felt, he had had a much tougher time in life than she had. All she could do was listen and be there for him, but what she did know was that she couldn't go back to living without him either.

Words started to just spill over, but he let them. "I've never been so happy in my life. I haven't genuinely smiled or laughed in 8 years, and then you....You mean everything to me...I just want to protect you, Cerise...and I want to be with you. Then...seeing you high...knowing I did that...seeing...essentially thinking I was going to be finding your body like I found Caleb's...I just...I'm panicking." And there it was, the real reason he would even try to process the thought of leaving her.

Finally, he’d gotten to the actual reason he was freaking out so badly. He was worried that he was going to lose her like he had lost his brother. "Marion..." Her body moved almost automatically to embrace him, holding him while she stroked his hair. "We live, and we learn...That wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known. The important thing is that we know now, so it won't have to happen again..." Cerise held on to him a little tighter, but not tight enough to disturb his injuries. "I promise you, I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay right here by your side for as long as you'll let me."

She was holding him now, stroking his hair and instinctively he pulled her closer. "I never want to lose you..." The thought of it tore him up inside. How could he have even thought of letting her go? Hell, she wasn't even going to let him. Vanderwood felt the burning of tears in his eyes again, but he just nuzzled into her hair. "Stay with me. I want you to stay with me." How had she done that? Twice in one day now she'd taken his pain and made it bearable, gotten him through it rather than letting him pull a band-aid over it and pretend it didn't exist.

He didn't even need to ask her to stay with him; even if he pushed her away, she would keep trying. She was stubborn like that. "Yes, always. " Cerise couldn't imagine herself being with anyone else, being a serial dater like her friends had been. This was someone she wanted to hold on to and never let go of. She didn't care how damaged he was, how moody he could be, because she loved all of him, the good and the bad. Cerise knew she had her moments too. She wasn't exactly the picture of maturity, but he accepted her and loved her anyways. They needed each other, there was no mistake.

"Cerise..." He found her lips with his, skirting the edge of danger somewhat with how needy for her he felt, but she had relaxed him to the point where he thought he could trust himself. The kiss was long, slow, and unmistakably hungry for her affection and presence. Vanderwood felt he was meant to be with her, there was no other explanation for the way she made him feel. Even his kiss told her how much he needed and wanted her by his side. She responded by pouring her feelings into it, her love and affection for him. Cerise kept her arms wrapped gently around him, holding him while they shared their affection for one another.

Marion broke the kiss, looking into her honey colored eyes once again. "Je'taime, Cerise...I don't think I can be without you." His soft brown eyes were filled with a kind of reverence, leaving her breathless for the second time. She leaned her forehead against his and smiled. "I _know_ that I can't be without you, Marion. I'm never going anywhere. Je t'aime aussi. "

The overwhelming urge to ask her to marry him right now flooded him. No. He was going to wait...He had to wait, but from the way she spoke, Vanderwood somehow knew she would say yes, without a single care for how early it was in their relationship. She would say yes. Now he was a mess in a whole lot of ways. Vanderwood wanted her, to hold her and never let go and to make love to her.

At least it had calmed from the rough and needy desire from earlier, but it was still a hard pill to swallow that that's what he wanted right now for one and for two that he couldn't. Vanderwood closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of her forehead against his. "Good...I won't go anywhere either...I belong with you." He wasn’t looking forward to being apart from her for another day, not after what had happened today.

She was extremely happy that he was listening to her, that he wanted to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him. "Good." Cerise repeated after him. "And I belong with you, ma moitié." She literally felt like he was her other half, the person written in the stars for her. Cerise closed her eyes, too, just enjoying the feeling of his presence. All her life, she’d heard stories of women who spent forever looking for their one and only, and she was so thankful that, despite the circumstances in which they met, they had just kind of stumbled upon each other. Fate had plans for them both, it seemed. She wouldn't change any of it for the world.

Check out my website. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	18. Proposed Cooking Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood has proposed...some cooking lessons for Cerise. Nothing quite goes as planned today.

***My apologies for last week's lack of post. My puppy was diagnosed with a dreadful disease which we are lucky he survived followed by myself getting a terrible cold. I hope this week's sweet fluffy chapter will help. ~Let’s Connect! FFC***

They had spent the last day apart, and boy did he feel it when he woke up. Vanderwood pulled away from the mass of pillows that he’d cuddled into because they smelled like her, grumbling softly as he hadn’t slept nearly as well without her. He’d gotten her ring yesterday, that and hurt himself again by exercising after their exchanged after-shower selfies had caused him a pants tightness problem. Jesus…by now she’d probably also gotten her pills, too, not that that would do him any good. Yet. Bloody Hell, what kind of a man was he that that was what he was focused on?

He sent her a good morning text, assuming she would still be sleeping. It took him a while to get up and make breakfast, opting for toast again and some juice to wash down pain pills. He felt exactly like he had yesterday now, so he really had set himself back a day. At least it wasn't horrendously painful. Vanderwood didn't have much time left before he was going to be asking the love of his life to marry him. It was all so fast, but he knew she was the one for him, and he knew that she felt the same way, even though he was still anxious and nervous. He snorted at himself, only because he’d gone from, ‘I’m going to ask her someday’ to, ‘Now.’

Vanderwood kept practicing the words, hoping they would come out right. As much as he had practiced, 'Will you go out with me,' he had found that, 'Will you marry me' sounded incredibly different. At least it had been good practice in learning more words? Vanderwood showered and got dressed, opting for his v-neck shirt and black shirt over the top rather than a t-shirt. He should look at least a little nice, right? They were going to stay together tonight, so he packed up a little bag and grabbed the ring box, placing it in his pocket with a deep sigh, trying to release all the nerves that were building in his gut. It was nearly time. Vanderwood sat on the edge of his bed as he watched the minutes tick by, sending her another text. `I'll see you soon, shortcake. I miss you.`

***

Cerise was woken up by the sound of her phone going off. Groggily, she unlocked it to check her messages. It had been from her boyfriend...He was going to come over soon. Cerise stretched and hopped out of bed, scattering a few pillows about as she did so. She padded over to her bathroom and discovered that she somehow looked like an absolute mess. Her hair was all over the place. "...Did I fight a fricken leopard in my sleep?" She mumbled to herself as she tried to tame her messy locks with a brush. When she was satisfied, she clipped off a section of her fringe to keep it out of her eyes and set off to find something to wear.

She opted for a pair of shorts instead of a skirt and a tank top with tennis shoes. Cerise threw a cute jacket over the top and didn't skip the stocking, because it was still winter, after all. Finally, she brushed her teeth and put on lotion before plopping down on her couch in the living room and turning on the television. Now she pulled out her phone to reply, a smile on her face. `Miss u 2. I'll b waiting <3`

***

His phone pinged, and by now he was tired of waiting around. Surely, she wouldn't mind if he came a little early? The anxiety was eating at him, and he felt like he needed to ask her _now_. Hell, he probably wouldn't make it through the front door at this rate. Vanderwood sent her a quick text before grabbing his things and tossing them in the car. `Can't wait. Coming over now.` The drive seemed even longer than before. It wasn't really that long, maybe 20 minutes, but eternity stretched out before him before he had finally parked and was at her door, taking a deep breath as he knocked, hand finding the little box in his pocket. This was happening, and it was happening right now.

***

Her phone pinged and buzzed again, causing her to grin. It was cute that he couldn't wait to see her; she felt the same way. Cerise was eager to see him again after spending a night apart. Judging by how her hair had been that morning, she’d probably tossed and turned all night. She decided not to text him back, since he was driving, and she didn't want him to be tempted to check his phone while on the road...Not that he would. He was so much smarter than that.

She didn't know how much time it had been before she heard a knock at her door, causing her to jump up and all but run to it. Cerise flung it open and threw her arms around him, forgetting that he was sore. "Oops!" She let go and laughed sheepishly, "I kinda forgot...I just missed you." Cerise tried for a hug again except a lot gentler that time. She just felt like she was brimming with so much affection and excitement just by him being there; she felt like she could burst.

Vanderwood grunted at the pain of her embrace, but it was swiftly followed with one much gentler. He wrapped an arm around her as he kept his other hand in his pocket. "I missed you, too...Cerise....I have to tell you something." He stepped away from her just a little, his hand finding her chin and holding it, so he could keep his chestnut brown eyes locked with her honey gold. Cerise was about to complain that it was really cold out there and that they should probably head inside if he wanted to tell her something, but the look in his eyes were so intense and captivating she couldn't find the words. All she could do was stare up at him, the cold making her breath visible in the air.

"I can't remember being so happy as I am with you. You've given me everything, and I can't help but want to do the same. You're ma moitié, my everything, the only woman I'll ever need." The words were coming so easily, flowing perfectly even as blush rose in his cheeks. "I need to ask you something...something really important." Here it came, he'd practiced over and over and now was the moment of truth.

The words that came out of his mouth made her blush, he was being so sweet this early. Did he really miss her that much? She nodded when he said he needed to ask her something important, but she got worried for a moment when he suddenly dropped to one knee and visibly winced. Marion was in that much pain? He should have stayed in bed. Cerise was about to interrupt him and tell him that he was in pain and needed to come inside to rest, that they could talk later, but his next question threw her off.

"Iras-tu sortir avec moi...No....wait..." No, no no, that wasn't right. A look of confusion washed over her face. He...was asking her to go out with him. For the third time now. Was this some weird British thing? Vanderwood bit his tongue as he tried to remember. He had royally screwed this up, beautiful. _Think, you dunderhead._ "Veux-tu m'épouser....Yes...veux-tu m'épouser?" God, he couldn't blame her if she said no and made him ask again later, because that really sucked. Vanderwood felt stupid on many levels, but he produced the little ring box anyway.

Before she could try to interrupt again, once she broke out of her confused daze, he had asked his apparently corrected question. Did he realize what he was asking her? Apparently, he did, because he also produced a ring box. So here he was, proposing to her in her apartment doorway. Tears began to brim in her eyes as she dropped down with him and threw her arms around him, hugging tightly and forgetting again about his soreness. This wasn't something that she had expected this early in their relationship or...at all, really. She would have been happy just being by his side. "Of course...yes. Yes, I'll marry you." It didn't matter to her that they'd only even known each other for a short while, Cerise already knew that she and him were meant to be together. Why prolong the inevitable?

He saw the tears first and when her arms wrapped around him just a little too tightly, he knew. Vanderwood knew she was saying yes before the words left her mouth. Even though he was a cheesy, rather blunt, damaged idiot, she still wanted to marry him. Vanderwood wrapped her up tighter in his arms, despite how much it was hurting his back and leg to sit there like this. Cerise was going to marry him, and he couldn't be happier. He shifted just a little to open the ring box for her and take out the ring to place it on her finger. "This was my errand yesterday...I'm so happy you liked it..." And he was, probably happier than he'd ever been.

He kissed her ring softly before nuzzling her nose, his hands on her cheeks, wiping away a few stray tears. "Je'taime, Cerise...You've made me the happiest man in the world already." Vanderwood really hadn't made it past her doorway after all. The relief and joy washed through him now; the joy he could see in her eyes, that was worth making a fool of himself on her doorstep, even though his leg was starting to cramp up.

So, that had been his errand...he did say that he thought she'd like it. Cerise absolutely loved it. The ring he had picked out was simple but completely beautiful. He really knew how to pick something out to compliment her. As much as she annoyed him and wasn't good at much of anything, this man had asked her to marry him. Her, out of all the people in the world. "I love you too, Marion." Cerise sniffled a bit before standing up, holding onto his hands to motion for him to follow. It was really cold outside, and she didn't want him to get sick on top of all the pain he was in.

Vanderwood tried not to wince too much as she pulled him along into the house. He really had cramped up, but with how happy she was, it was so incredibly worth it. Once they were inside and the door was closed, she was embracing him again; she didn't want to let go. Cerise was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that the man currently standing in front of her was going to be her husband and was now officially her fiancé. There was such an intense feeling of joy that she had never experienced before now, and she wanted to remember it for the rest of her life.

If Cerise had been taller, she would have just kissed him, but she wasn't going to ruin the moment by hopping around like some deranged bunny just to reach him. "Thank you...for choosing to stay with me. And for putting up with me." She nuzzled her face into his shirt, still holding him. "You make me happy~ I don't think there's even an emoji that can express what I'm feeling right now. "

His heart wouldn't stop fluttering, all thanks to her. "Cerise..." She just kept holding him, and he didn't want to stop holding her, although he did want to kiss her. Could he manage the pain to do that? Cerise was his fiancée now. It almost seemed surreal, but there it was. This woman, who for all intents and purposes should have run away from him, should have turned him away the moment they met, had agreed to become his wife.

Her comments had him smiling and pulling her closer. "I would choose you over anyone. And I'll ‘put up’ with you for the rest of my life." He gently stroked her hair, his heart warming further. Of course, she would want to use emojis to describe it. There was no resisting it now. To Cerise’s absolute delight, it seemed _he_ was going to kiss _her_.

Vanderwood pulled away from her solely so his hand could cup the side of her face as he kissed her, deep and slow. He poured his love for her into that kiss, wanting her to feel just how much it meant to him that she cared for him, that she wanted to take care of him at all, the joy that she brought to his formerly bleak world. His Cerise, immature and irritating, but wonderful, strong, caring, open-minded; Vanderwood couldn't come up with enough praises, because nothing would ever be enough. His body was reacting to her now even past all of the excitement, so he pulled away, blush hot in his cheeks.

Just from that one kiss--their first as an engaged couple, he told her wordlessly how much she meant to him and how much he loved her. Cerise loved these intense moments where words weren't needed. She poured her own heart into her kiss, getting lost in the flood of their shared affection. It felt like he’d pulled away far too soon for her liking, but she could understand why...She was starting to get worked up, so she could only imagine how he felt. The blush on her cheeks matched his as she took his hand and led him to the couch. "Sit here while I make some warm tea for my future hubby~" Just saying it made her heart leap.

He was thankful to be sitting down, and now he was blushing even harder at being called her future hubby with such a sweet voice. He was a little cold; he realized that now. The winter air had sunken into him but not been felt past his excitement. Vanderwood watched her as she made the tea, taking in her appearance. She was wearing shorts and a thin top with only her stockings and jacket to really provide any true warmth to her. He bit his tongue looking at her. His future wife didn't know how to dress for the weather apparently...but she sure dressed in a way he liked. Vanderwood internally slapped himself, sinking into the couch instead.

As she made her way to the kitchen, she examined the ring he’d gotten her. It was real. He had really asked her to marry him. That cheesy vanderjerk. The blush was still taking up residence on her face as she brewed a cup of tea. She added only a little ginger to some green tea with lemon and a small bit of honey. While she was at it, she made herself a cup, too, sans the ginger and with a lot more honey. When she was done, she carefully brought his cup to him with a smile. "Here~"

Her sing-song tones would be the death of him. "Thank you...future wife." Vanderwood reached for her, gently tapping her lips with his pointer finger. "I feel like I don't tell you enough just how beautiful you are." Attack of the cheesiness. She really was, though, and the outfit only made her look even better. He shifted to indicate he wanted her to snuggle up to him, not worrying about soreness, just wanting her close to him. After their night apart, he didn't want to be away from her at all.

Cerise felt like she was on cloud nine, and nothing could bring her down. Him calling her his future wife made her feel like she was falling in the best way. The color dominating her face was redder than her namesake. The word 'wife' felt like it couldn't apply to her quite yet--she was only twenty. People got married that young, right? How old was he, even? She figured he couldn't be that much older than her, even if he did act like such a stick in the mud sometimes. Cerise couldn't help but giggle a little. He was being so very cheesy today...Though he had every right to be, especially if he was as elated as she was.

"Oh~?" Cerise took him up on his offer, snuggling up to him closely. "If you think I'm so beautiful, maybe we should start going out or something." She teased him and carefully reached over him to where she’d put her own cup of tea on the side table. Vanderwood wrapped an arm around her as she snuggled into him. Her tease had him coughing softly in embarrassment. "Yeah, I think I really would like to go out with you."  He was about to say something to her about how much he liked her outfit, his hand at her hip so he could reach out and touch the soft fabric of her top. Vanderwood started absentmindedly playing with it, but then she completely broke his train of thought. "You know what, though?" Cerise took a sip of her tea and looked up at him, grinning. "I still think you look better in a skirt than I do~"

Fucking Seven. "I..." Vanderwood felt his eyebrow twitch just a little in irritation at the redhead. Someday, somehow, he would get that little shit back for showing that picture of him in a maid’s outfit by embarrassing the kid. If that were even possible. "I have to disagree with you." He bit his tongue before having some of the tea she'd made for him. There was a bit of ginger in it, but it wasn't nasty like the last time, and he would have been grateful for it even if it was. "Did you want to help me with lunch after we finish our tea, fiancée?" It felt ridiculously silly to keep repeating that she was in fact going to be his future wife, but it also gave him that warm fuzzy feeling he was coming to enjoy so much.

"Oh, but I think you're mistaken, dear Marion~" Cerise was definitely going to have to ask the red-headed man for any copies of that picture that he might have. She was sure that Vanderwood would protest as soon as he found out, but she'd find some way to convince him to let her keep it. He had repeated the word again; he was definitely as excited and giddy as she currently was. "I would love to help you, but I can't believe I get to have such an attractive teacher. Good thing I'm the only student, huh?" She took another sip of her tea. "Can't have the others getting all jealous that I'm marrying the teacher." Cerise glanced at her ring again, unable to get over how pretty it was or how well it had fit on her finger. How did he even know her size? _She_ didn't even know her size.

Vanderwood snorted softly. "I'm more worried about me getting jealous if someone else were teaching you." That was most certainly true. It was a new thing for him, but he was definitely more jealous than the average person, and he had a feeling that his jealousy could be lethal in the right situation. Cereise nodded, talking into her cup of tea. "Would suck to be that person, huh?" She had already seen small glimpses of his jealousy, and there was no doubt he'd be quite a force under the right (or wrong) circumstances.

His eyes fell to her ring. It suited her so perfectly, and that just made him smile all the more, not only because she seemed to love it, but also because he felt damn proud of himself for picking something that matched her so well. "Does the ring fit okay? I made an educated guess." His fingers had continued absentmindedly playing with her shirt as he drank his tea, by chance slipping just under the fabric to brush against her scar.

"It fits perfectly, actually. I was surprised, it was a really lucky guess." They both sat there in silence for a little while just drinking their tea and enjoying each other's company after their time apart. While cuddled up to him, she could hear him breathe...it was such a comforting sound along with his steady heartbeat. She felt his fingers brush over her scar once more. Did he feel guilty?

Cerise tried not to think about that day, the words he had said. He didn't mean them, yet they still came out of his mouth. She shook her head and pushed those thoughts away. Of course, he didn't mean them, it probably hurt him to say them as much as it hurt her to hear them. Marion wouldn't have asked her to spend the rest of her life with him if he didn't want her around, if he didn't care for her--didn't love her.

Vanderwood had been tracing her scar for some time now, but then his fingers slipped down over the much smoother skin of her hip. He moved his hand, placing it up on the couch. Even just that one small touch to her skin had made him react to her. It had been too long and too stressful since the last time he'd had sex, clearly. He bit his tongue before taking a big swallow of tea, trying to hide just how red his face was.

When his hand moved from her scar to her hip, she began to automatically respond with a blush. Just as quickly as he had done it, he’d pulled his hand away. She looked up at him with a questioning expression, finding his face was totally red. Cerise was happy that he was doing so well, that he had so much better impulse control now. If he hadn't been so sore, she might have tried at teasing him just a little. Instead, she opted to just let him have his moment, pretending she hadn't noticed how flustered he was...which in turn made her more flustered.

He placed his tea to the side. Why was it that he already wanted to put his hand on her again, wanted the contact? Addiction based or just because he loved her? Really, he was doing much better than he thought he would ever be able to at controlling himself, although he still worried. She deserved the best of this world, and he only hoped he could make that happen...only hoped he would be able to keep her from getting hurt in his presence any further than the times she already had.

Just a day before after her brush with painkillers he'd said...some things. In the moment he'd meant them, and it was a fear for him that he would ruin her life, but...Vanderwood looked down at her. He would keep that from happening, and she was willing to risk everything to be with him, just like he was to be with her. She had that right just as much as he did.

Cerise kept her head down and focused on her tea. The silence was starting to be a little uncomfortable for her.  "Marion...I never really asked you. How old are you? I guess it's kinda silly asking that now considering..." Cerise found the hand that he rested on the couch and began to play with his fingers. "I'm twenty...but I'm sure you already know that. Being a super-secret agent and all.”

Her question pulled him out of his thoughts. "Oh...well..." That's right, he'd never told her. "Yeah...I've known since the day after I brought you to the first hotel. Seven sent me a file...but I could only read the first sentence. Didn't feel right to read the rest." She probably had some idea of how old he was already, so it wouldn't be a huge shock right? "I'm 28. I'll be 29 soon."

Okay, so he was eight years older than her, that wasn't bad. At the mention of the word 'soon' her eyes lit up. "Soon? When is your birthday?" Cerise loved celebrating things. Holidays and birthdays made her so excited, but the birthday of her fiancé? Sign her right the Hell up! She was totally going to learn how to cook by then, so she could surprise him with something she made that wasn't terrible and burned. By now, she was pretty much hovering right next to his face, eyes sparkling with excitement.

Holy shit, why was she so excited? He leaned away just a little, furrowing his brows at her. It was just a birthday. Hell, he'd never even done anything for his birthday. "It's...December 23rd. Just about a month from now...but I'd rather not dwell on it." Vanderwood couldn't even remember people saying happy birthday to him. No wait, he could. Caleb. Caleb was the only one who remembered. Vanderwood wrapped his arms around Cerise, pulling her into his lap tightly and burying his face in her hair. His heart had felt like it was being suddenly crushed, her presence in his arms easing it somewhat.

She didn't even have a chance to ask him why he seemed so upset before he was pulling her into his lap. The atmosphere felt sort of…gloomy all the sudden...Had something happened on his birthday? Did he just not like celebrating it? If it was bad memories he had...she wanted to do her best to replace them with good ones. He was twenty-eight...and probably hadn't celebrated his birthday in a while. Cerise had a lot of work to do if she wanted him to look back fondly on it, but now she figured they had their entire lives ahead of them to make that happen. He had buried his face into her hair, probably not wanting to talk right now, so she just nuzzled into him, letting him enjoy the silence as he held her there.

The silence and just her warmth, it was comforting. It was exactly what he needed. After a few minutes, he felt like he could talk again. "I'm sorry..." He mumbled into her hair before he released her slowly. "That was a little sudden...Just...unpleasant thoughts." Vanderwood gave her an apologetic smile and a soft kiss to her forehead. "You do whatever you want for my birthday...but I can't promise you I'll be in a good mood."

Cerise shook her head and gave him an understanding smile. "Don’t worry, you know? We're gonna make happy memories." God help him if she forgot. Vanderwood internally winced at the idea, but Cerise wouldn't forget...judging from how excited she had been...she wouldn't forget. His hand found the side of her face, cupping her cheek as he had a tendency to do before he gave her a kiss, nice and slow, pulling away to kiss her nose. "Now...is my beautiful fiancée ready for her first lesson? I'm a little hungry."

He didn't really feel like talking about it right now, as much as he had promised her his honesty...it could wait. Those childhood memories were more painful than the stories of his scars and were overshadowed by Caleb's death in ways that made him feel like he couldn't breathe past the pain in his chest. It was strange; usually he'd never think about those memories, they were just locked up behind a wall of pain, but this memory, as painful as it was, it also felt good. His brother had loved him. Vanderwood bit his tongue to keep from turning into a mess again.

She didn't think even in a million years she would get tired of his kisses. Each one never felt like the last, but all of them were enough to always take her breath away. "I'm so ready." She hopped up off the couch and towards her kitchen at an incredible speed. Not only was she really hungry, but she was really eager to learn from him. Cerise turned around and motioned for him to follow. "Come on, slow poke! At this rate we'll be celebrating _my_ birthday before you get your butt over here."

"Alright, I'm coming." He snorted softly at her enthusiasm, that and her birthday was almost a full year away, and he couldn't possibly be that slow, even injured. Vanderwood couldn't help but smile like an idiot as he looked at her, thinking about just how much she meant to him. "Let me go get the groceries. Wash your hands while I'm gone...And maybe find me a hair-tie?" Cerise teasingly saluted him and found him the hair-tie he had asked for before washing her hands. They were going to be cooking, so she made sure to wash them extra well.

He had left the groceries in the car in his excitement to propose, so now he went to get them before entering her house again and placing them on an open space of counter. "Alright...so we're making omelets with some vegetables, not too difficult and pretty healthy." Cerise was drying off her hands when he reappeared back in the house with the groceries, nodding as he spoke. Omelets sounded pretty easy, and vegetables weren't that scary either. She could totally impress him with how quickly she could pick this up. Eggs and vegetables were nothing. "That sounds delicious! I can't wait~" Cerise handed him his hair-tie. "So, what's first, Teach'?"

"I'm probably going to start by teaching you how to wash and cut the vegetables while I whisk up and cook the eggs." Vanderwood chuckled at her enthusiasm. Cerise was a marvel to him sometimes. He put his hair up before looking her over. She had a Hell of a lot more hair than he did. Considering the mess she'd made the last time she cooked, it was probably better for her to have her hair up, too. "But...I think you should put your hair up first, too."

He was not risking her lighting _that_ on fire. Vanderwood loved her hair, more than he really cared to admit. "Oh, my hair too?" Cerise nodded and disappeared out of the kitchen and into her bedroom before returning with a thicker hair scrunchie and handing it to him. "You do it~" She didn't give him a chance to answer before she turned around, shaking her hair out with her hands for a moment.

A light blush appeared on his face. He loved messing with her hair, really, so putting it up, as dumb as it sounded, it was a little on the intimate side, at least for him. "Alright then." Such a simple task shouldn't really make your chest feel warm and fuzzy should it? Vanderwood took the hair scrunchie and put it on his wrist as he gathered her hair up carefully before sliding the scrunchie from his wrist to around her hair, making sure to get it tight enough that it would stay but not so it would hurt her head.

He gave her a quick kiss to the top of her head then moved to grab some carrots and broccoli from his grocery bag, handing them to her. "Alright...so, first we get them out of the bags. Then we wash them off. The carrots will need peeling, but the broccoli just needs a good wash." Vanderwood washed his hands quickly, leaving the water running to wash the veggies. "So...let's wash the broccoli first, since that doesn't need peeling."

Cerise bounced in place excitedly as he talked before taking the broccoli from him. “You got it~” Easy stuff; she was practically a broccoli-washing pro! Cerise hummed excitedly to herself before turning the broccoli over. He watched her, shaking his head a little. Lord, she was in adorable form. At least he could trust her to wash broccoli, right? That wasn't so hard.

Vanderwood had gone to open the bag of carrots, so they could wash those as soon as she got the broccoli cut up, and then his thoughts were violently interrupted when he was splashed with water. She had managed to somehow make the stalk fling water at the both of them, getting in her eyes. "Sorry!" Cerise apologized and rubbed her eyes. She didn't know broccoli could be so...rubber-bandy and flingy. He looked over at her to see that, yup, somehow she had managed to mess up washing, but at least the broccoli was clean? He carefully took the broccoli from her and placed it on a cutting board, trying not to be bothered by the fact that there was a wet spot on his back. "That's alright." She really was rather clumsy.

Did he trust her with a knife? Vanderwood cut the stalk of the broccoli off himself before motioning for her to stand in front of him, demonstrating cutting the broccoli apart from the little cluster. He hadn't expected her proximity to be a problem for him, but she was so close, and he needed to get away before problems arose, so to speak. Vanderwood did just that, shifting away from her directly after showing her how to cut the pieces apart. "So...just cut them away from the bigger portion while I wash the carrots." She could get that, right?

"Yessir!" She answered with another salute, trying to ignore how close he had been to her. Cerise had cut things before. That shouldn't be hard...At least she couldn't get splashed. _Except with blood once you manage to cut your finger off._ Cerise froze. Whoa, what a terrible thought. She shook her head; she wouldn't be cutting any appendages off today. Carefully, she did as he’d instructed and managed to successfully cut the florets away from the stalks without much of an issue. How in the world could she do that but not wash the goddamn thing correctly?

Vanderwood had started on washing the carrots, snorting at her salute. Thankfully, cooking was a good mind clearer, but he kept glancing at her to make sure she wasn't cutting herself. Her voice got his attention. "I think I did this right." As he looked over, his eyes widened. "Yeah, you did great. And no blood." That was supposed to be an internal thought, but now it was out. "Um...I wasn't expecting any." He resisted the urge to rub the back of his neck, because then he'd just have to wash his hands again. "So...um...put that in a pot, and let's wash and peel some carrots."

Cerise couldn’t help but feel a little flush in her cheeks as he, apparently accidentally, pointed out the obvious. "It's okay...I'm actually surprised too." She confessed with a nervous laugh. That probably wasn't reassuring at all, but there it was. Cerise deposited the broccoli into the designated pot. "Okay...carrots." He seemed to be busy with washing them...which was fair considering how she had treated the broccoli, so she could just start on the peeling.

She grabbed the peeler and a carrot. He hadn't really shown her how to do it, but it couldn't be any harder than chopping broccoli. Vanderwood was surprised to see her grabbing the peeler already, apparently wanting him to wash the carrots while she peeled. Did she need to be shown how? Probably not…Holding the carrot, Cerise applied pressure with the peeler and peeled the top skin off. Well...it was more like half the carrot...which as she applied pressure to get the chunk of carrot off, suddenly shot across the room. Cerise just stared blankly and she watched the orange torpedo hit the wall and then the floor. Why? Why was she so bad at this?

He had been watching what she was doing, a little confused by how she was choosing to hold the carrot, but he wasn’t expecting the orange missile situation. Vanderwood just kind of stared at the carrot on the floor for a minute. "Um...let me help you with that." He tossed the carrot, grabbing another, a little wary as he took her hands from behind her again. His head bent to lightly press a kiss to the spot just behind her ear, an easy task with her hair up, before he bit his tongue and returned to the task at hand.

No time for nonsense...Vanderwood took the carrot and placed it in her hand, showing her how to properly hold the damn thing, because apparently that was too difficult for her clumsiness, God, she was cute...and slightly terrifying. Cerise cooking could probably be weaponized. Vanderwood had to suppress a snort as well as control the little side of fear that gripped at him as he envisioned her shooting carrots at someone. He shook his head before he helped her peel a few lines off the carrot. "It can peel both ways, but I think you should peel in the direction away from your body...To be safe." His concern for her safety was outweighing his concern for how close he was pressed to her like this.

For a moment, he seemed to be thinking, maybe in more reverent silence over what had happened to that poor carrot. Cerise was still having her own little moment of silence over that, quite frankly. It was becoming apparent to even herself just how bad at this she was. His comment about peeling away from herself for her own safety made her scrunch up her nose for a second before her face relaxed. "You know...that's fair." She peeled the carrot like he had shown her away from herself, and once she had started, she found it rather easy, as long as she held it correctly.

He stepped away to start on the eggs, but Vanderwood had found himself mostly watching her rather than dealing with the eggs out of worry. After the first carrot, it looked like she was doing okay. She managed not to maim any more defenseless carrots and successfully peeled the rest he had washed as he cracked the eggs into a pot for stirring together.

Cerise figured that cutting them was next as she finished, placing the peeler aside along with the final carrot. "Done with this part~" She sang out and went to go and grab her knife. Unfortunately, she had completely forgotten that she might not have peeled them over the trash can, causing her to slip on the orangey peels. The kitchen was not her friend. Cooking was not her friend. The Gods above obviously hated her.

He had snorted softly at her sing-song tone, having moved to place the eggs on the counter, and then he noticed her slipping. Vanderwood's heart was in his throat as he reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her into his arms successfully before she could hit the ground. Cerise had closed her eyes in preparation of hitting the floor, but it never came. She opened one eye to see that he had grabbed her before she could. It was a good thing she hadn't managed to grab for the knife; that would have been a disaster. Vanderwood was about ready to curl up in a ball in the corner. The mess too…the carrot peels on the floor he hadn’t noticed out of concern for making sure she didn’t launch the carrots about the room.

Obviously, she simply wasn't meant to cook. It was fate, clearly. Life had prepared him to be the housewife for her, because his future wife sure as Hell wasn't one. He realized he was holding her rather tightly and let go slowly. "Are you alright?" When he finally let go, Cerise looked down to see what it was that made her slip. Yep. That figured. She knew she should have peeled the orange traitors over the trash can. Cerise looked back at him and blinked. "Yeah, I'm fine..."

Despite her saying so, he still felt the need to check her over, apparently. His hands went to her shoulders, moving down her arms and then to her waist and over her legs as he searched for any sign of injury, his face slowly turning redder. It was sweet how much he worried over her, even for super simple things. God, she was so clumsy...Maybe cooking would never be her thing. In theory, it seemed so simple, but she just was not able to pick it up. Maybe in time...who knew?

When he was done checking her over, she noticed that his face was at a new level of red. The touches were innocent, and she thought nothing of them, but the way his face was flushing only made hers match it, and she couldn't help but to look down at her feet, letting her hair obscure her face again. Marion moved to press a soft kiss to her forehead, which didn’t make it easier. "I think you've learned enough for one day, shortcake...Please go sit down before I have a heart attack..."

Cerise wanted to argue with him, tell him that she wanted to stay in the kitchen and learn more, but he did have a point. If she stayed in there today, she was either going to kill herself or kill him in some ridiculous freak kitchen accident. She didn't even blame him for shooing her away. Cerise stalked over to the couch and plopped down with a bounce, turning her head so she could watch him in the kitchen. It made her feel bad that she sucked at cooking so much that he basically had to do everything. Maybe she was just good at other things and hadn't realized it? Cerise let out a sigh and pulled her phone out, stopping to glance at her ring. If she was going to be someone's wife...his wife--shouldn't she be better at these things? Some woman she was...but she didn't think he was the type of person at all to ask her unless he was absolutely sure that she was what he wanted. She had time to learn things.

A smile played on her face as she opened the camera and took a selfie of herself with her ring in view, making sure to angle it to where Vanderwood could be seen cooking in the background. Cerise had her doubts about being a good wife, but she wasn't going to let that dampen her excitement. She figured she must have added like fifty tags to that photo and surprisingly opted not to put stickers all over it. It was a great picture how it was and didn't need any decorations--Cerise's ring was decoration enough.

As expected, as soon as she uploaded the picture, her phone began to blow up with messages and notifications. She couldn't help but giggle and read through the well wishes and congratulations. There were a few salty people, but she tended to ignore them. They were going to have a beautiful relationship, haters or no.

Vanderwood really wasn't sure he could take more kitchen mishaps, focusing on taking care of the mess that was making his skin crawl before he could start cooking again. Occasionally, he peeked at her from his periphery. It looked like she was on her social media. A little smile crossed his face. How had he, a guy who had tried all his adult life to avoid having any online presence whatsoever, fallen in love with a woman who was virtually famous?

It struck him as incredibly ironic. On top of that, it was a bit dangerous, but...Cerise was the love of his life, and he wasn't about to let any more danger come to her. It might show up at the doorstep, but he would take care of it. Vanderwood let the veggies cook while he worked on the omelets, adding a little cheese, which hopefully she liked. "Lunch is almost ready." He looked at her there on the couch. That woman, that perfect little obstinate woman, was going to be his wife.

Cerise perked her head up at his announcement. No doubt if she had stayed in there, it would have taken ten times as long. This incredibly domestic setting made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. There were no issues to worry about, no secret threats to speak of. Cerise hopped back up off of the couch and made her way back to the kitchen, coming up behind him to wrap her arms around his torso as he’d turned around. It could have waited, sure, but she just really felt she needed to hug him right then.

Vanderwood was portioning the veggies onto the plates with the omelets when she wrapped her arms around him from behind. He hadn't been expecting that at all, but his heart flipped in his chest, and his hands found hers as he hung his head and closed his eyes. It was such a simple little thing, just a hug, but he felt so happy, a moment of peace and quiet with his soulmate. His finger stroked lightly over her ring, the ring that said she was his wife to be. She felt him relax into her arms and they were able to share a quiet little moment. It was nice to just be near him, especially when they had recently spent so much time apart. Cerise decided she hated being apart from him and hoped that there was never another situation that he had to be away for so long, because his absence was definitely noticed.

How long did they stand there like that? It felt never ending, and maybe that's just what it was like to be truly happy. Vanderwood gently moved her hands away to grab her plate and turn to hand it to her. "I love you, shortcake...I'm so glad you said yes." He felt blush in his cheeks again, but that was just how today was going to be, it seemed. It was the best day of his life so far. "I love you, too." A light blush dusted her cheeks. Marion sounded so soft and sincere, and it made her heart flutter. "I'm glad you asked me. " Cerise shot him a smile before she was headed back to the couch with her omelet, waiting to start on it until he joined her. Not only had she gotten the cooking lesson she was promised today, but she’d gotten a proposal for something much better.

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	19. Solutions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood has a solution to both his dryspell problem and a shark situation. Sharks don't come out of drains.

***It's barely Thursday...I had a day off with my hubby yesterday, but here's the update~ Guess there's going to be a dryspell ending. ;3c ~Let's Connect! FFC***

Vanderwood startled awake, putting a hand up as though to stop the carrot that had been launched at him in his dreams. He blinked a few times. Oh, good; he was in her bedroom and not the kitchen. A sigh of relief escaped him as he looked down to see Cerise still snuggled into him. She was so beautiful when she slept; well, she always was. Vanderwood watched her for a little bit before he carefully untangled himself from her and found his phone. If he could let her sleep in a little longer, that would be best. Stretching, he noticed just the tiniest twinge of soreness, but that seemed to be his usual morning soreness and not related to his now-healed injuries.

He was definitely back in commission. His eyes flitted to her, noting the way the blankets had wrapped tight around her, and then he had to look away. Really? It had to react that way _now_? He had just woken up, and she wasn't even awake yet. Granted, it had been almost a week since he'd had sex last, and he was incredibly attracted to her, but still. Bloody Hell, he was some sort of mess. He decided to check his texts. Nothing new.

A smile crossed his face as he decided to read through his texts with her, and that was a bad idea, because he'd forgotten about her shower picture. Oh, holy fuck, that wasn't going away. His eyes flitted to her sleeping form again. Maybe she wouldn't mind being woken up? Vanderwood rolled over and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer and kissing her nose gently. "Shortcake?" If she didn't wake up, he'd just have to figure it out himself.

Cerise stirred from her sleep at the sound of his voice. She'd been having a rather pleasant dream involving something to do with cotton candy and other fluffy things. Keeping her eyes open was proving to be trouble, but she eventually managed it. Why did she feel like he had woken her up at the buttcrack of dawn? "...What time is it?" She asked sleepily, bringing her hand up to rub her eyes.

Obviously, she was still a little tired, but he hoped he could get her to wake up a little more. He hadn't really paid much attention to the time. "Maybe seven? I think." Cerise groaned, but Vanderwood nuzzled her before he snuggled in closer under the blanket, his hand at her upper back taking a slow trip lower, down to the edge of her top. His fingertips ducked just under the fabric to tease lightly over her skin.

She wasn’t even paying attention to what he was doing. Being up this early wasn’t something she enjoyed in the least. What was with him? He kissed her gently, feeling like maybe he was being a little forward for what was probably early in the morning to her. "I'm uh...I miss you..." Maybe she could understand that? She could probably feel his erection against her by now, so it should be clear enough.

Cerise furrowed her eyebrows. He missed her? _What even..._ "...Mon amour, I'm right here." She only realized what he meant a moment later after feeling him against her. Cerise started to turn red but sighed and kissed his forehead. "You're still injured. It'll probably be another week or two." It's not that she didn't want to; she just didn't want him to make things worse for himself.

Vanderwood groaned softly. He didn't think he'd feasibly survive another week, certainly not two, without being in a completely different room from her, and that wasn't happening. "I'm perfectly fine. No soreness from my injuries." Vanderwood slid his hand down over her hip to shape her thigh. For such a short woman, she really had nice legs. “I need you.” His voice had a bit of a pleading tone, but that was definitely how he felt; he needed her. Not just sex, but her. If it were just sex he needed, he'd be more willing to take care of it himself.  

"Are you sure...?" She was trying her hardest not to respond to his touches and somewhat failing. "Because...maybe your erm...'need' is clouding your...judgement?" It was getting a bit harder to formulate words. Cerise had to talk more slowly to keep herself composed. It made sense to her; it had been a while for him. That and being turned on was probably making him forget about the pain he was in. Vanderwood was now nuzzled into her neck, pressing soft kisses there. "Please, mon amour." Never had he begged for sex, but Cerise tended to bring out those new experiences for him.

He could feel her resolve weakening as he kept up with his gentle kisses there. "I am fine, Cerise." She did have a good point, but he'd stretched before, and that had felt just fine. It was touching that she cared so much, but right now, he really wished she wasn't so stubborn. "I think you should admit you 'need' me too." Wow, he was actually managing to talk like an adult again with her, although he still felt that little bit of redness in his cheeks. Vanderwood leaned back to lock eyes with her. "Really, I'm fine...I just need you, badly." Impatience was a problem, but if she didn't agree, what was he going to do? He'd probably have to take a shower. But he'd much rather have her.

Cerise blushed harder at his words. It's not like he was wrong..."I..." She really didn't have an argument for him. Cerise fidgeted slightly under his gaze, able to tell that he was serious. Breaking their eye contact, she turned her head, unable to look him in the eyes. "I guess...I mean..." _Words. Use your words._ Why could they never spill out when she wanted them to? "...prove to me you're okay?"

A smile spread on his face. "Gladly." Vanderwood flipped her onto her back, taking care to be gentle with her, but she'd asked him to prove it, and he was accepting that challenge tenfold. He was actually managing to be a little more like himself and less flustered, probably just because he needed her so badly. Well, he certainly wasn't wasting any time. Cerise had let out a soft squeak when he flipped her onto her back and now stared up at him. She was terribly red, but she noticed that he was quite a bit, too, and that made her feel better.

His tongue tied just as he tried to be smooth again. "I can...I can do that." And there was the fluster. Vanderwood shrugged it off, catching her lips with his as the hand that had been shaping her thigh before now gripped it and moved her leg over his hip, so he could grind against her for some relief. As much as it felt like he wanted to bury himself deep right now, a part of him wanted to take his time, enjoy her, please her, make the time they had together something special rather than what he had been used to before. Vanderwood's other hand buried itself in her hair, breaking their kiss and tugging lightly to trail more kisses down her neck.

Just the kiss alone made her heart beat faster, but then he had moved her leg and grinded against her, and she felt like her heart was trying to escape the confines of her chest again. Her body was certainly reacting, and she couldn't help but to move against him as he did so, providing more friction. He seemed to be fine so far...maybe he really was okay now.

She felt him tug at her hair a little as he broke their kiss. Like it had many times before, it felt too soon for her liking, but she decided she didn't mind this time, especially with his lips on her neck instead. She already felt a little breathless thanks to him. Cerise let her own hands trail along his chest and torso as she used her nails to gently glide across his skin. She made sure to watch for any signs of discomfort, as hard as that was to do in this situation.

He groaned against her neck at the feeling of her nails across his skin and the way she was moving back against him. Vanderwood had really missed this, her touching him, the closeness. It was as close as anyone could get, and she was all his. He slid the hand that had been holding her leg in place up her pajama shorts instead. This part of her he hadn't been so fortunate to really explore yet, but now he gave her ass a light squeeze, knowing it would make her move up against him even more.

Cerise hadn't been expecting his hand, the slight squeeze making her jump, her hips moving up to meet his even more and eliciting a deep moan from him. Based on that sound alone, she figured that that's what he had been after. After the initial surprise, she made a point to push up against him even more, knowing that he'd like it. Hell, she liked it, too and was more than happy to oblige.

His teeth grazed over her shoulder, telling her without words what he wanted, waiting for her okay. They easily communicated like this, no words needed, which was good, because sometimes neither of them could manage to talk properly anyway. He was too completely occupied with thoughts of her for words to make much sense. Cerise slid the strap to her pajama top down her arm and moved her hair over to her other shoulder in answer, giving him better access. Her hands found their way into his hair, and she let them entangle into it as she braced herself for what she knew he was about to do. Last time, she had surprisingly enjoyed it, despite her general aversion to anything that might seem painful.

Having her hands in his hair had him pausing just a moment to enjoy that feeling, another that only she had ever given him. He pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder before he bit down, being slow to apply more pressure and sucking at the spot. This one was going to last, but he didn't want to outright hurt her. She winced a little and let out a soft sound, but it didn't hurt all that much. Marion always tended to be very careful with her, not doing anything that he knew would hurt her, and if he had thought it might, he would tell her.

The mark was dark when he pulled away, and he nuzzled it lightly before moving to mumble in her ear. "Please don't ever leave me...ma moitié." His words made her smile, and she nuzzled into him in turn. "Never, I wouldn't dream of it~" She figured it went without saying that he promised her the same. What would she do if one day he just up and decided that he had made a mistake--that she was a mistake? There was no way he would do that. Cerise knew that he was as in love with her as she was with him. They needed one another and they both knew it, as weird as their relationship was.

His impatience was starting to get the better of him, and he pulled back to help her out of her top, the familiar hitch of his breath when he saw her beneath him making him smile. She couldn’t help but to turn red. It was the third time he’d seen her completely topless, but it didn’t make it any less embarrassing for her. It took everything in her not to cover her chest on instinct, but he was moving on already. The way Marion had looked at her didn't help much either paired with the way he loomed over her. Even that image alone had the ability to make her blood run hot.

Vanderwood slid his hands down her sides with a light touch, feeling her shiver beneath him. He made quick work of her shorts before he kissed her again deep and passionate, his tongue pushing its way into her mouth and roughly teasing against hers. He wanted her so badly now that it was nearly painful, but he didn't care. Vanderwood needed this kiss like he needed air.

Cerise was thankful for the kiss, because for one, she really wanted it, and two, if he was kissing her, he wouldn't be able to see the raging blush on her face. This was the third time they'd done this - should she still be blushing like this? Should she still be this embarrassed? She was brought back from her thoughts when she felt him push his tongue into her mouth, roughly teasing against hers.

This was probably the first time he'd been so rough when kissing her...not that she minded it in the least. Cerise could feel his need through it, and she teased his tongue back just as roughly, then pushing past to rake hers against his teeth. She let her hands trail along his body and found the edge of his pajama pants. It wasn't fair that he still got to keep his pants on while she didn't.

 It was too bad she wasn't able to slide them down much due to their statures being so vastly different, her reach could only get her so far. She decided to improvise and ended up maneuvering to use her feet to get them the rest of the way off. Cerise couldn't help but smirk against their kiss. She was a fricken genius. He was going to have to finish the job though, but she figured he would just kick them the rest of the way off.

Bloody Hell, that was a new feeling for him as she was working on getting his pants down. Never before had he let a woman remove any of his clothing for him. Certainly, he hadn’t let them take off his pants. Thanks to their size she ended up using her feet, and he was just kissing her more deeply now, completely and utterly hungry for her, her little smirk not helping his impatience much. Vanderwood broke the kiss to get his pants off the rest of the way. His eyes trailing over her body, all his, his sweet Cerise.

She’d known that she really needed a nice, long kiss between them, but she didn't know that she’d needed one like this until now, rough and passionate, filled with raw emotion. His eyes were taking her in again after he broke their kiss. It was during those times she felt the most vulnerable. Cerise was trying to catch her breath after that searing kiss, but her breath hitched when he pressed against her entrance.

It was taking everything in him not to just take her now as he was pressed against her. She was right there for the taking, but he had a point to make. "You think I've proved I'm fine?" He was absolutely certain she needed him as much as he needed her, but he just couldn't resist making his point, as much as he had a feeling that would bite him in the ass later.

Cerise could feel her need for him growing stronger and stronger by the second. It was getting to be almost uncomfortable with how much she wanted him, and then he decided to open his mouth. Was he seriously taunting her right now? She gave him the most unamused look she could manage in her current state. "...I dunno. " He really thought he was going to play with fire and not get burned? Of course, she needed him, wanted him badly, but she was also positive that she could wait a lot longer than he could.

A smile spread across her face as she pulled him down to give him a deep kiss, arching herself so she grinded up against him roughly. Well, fuck. Vanderwood had watched her face as a smile grew across it and before she implemented her plans, eliciting moans into her mouth. That was not what he had expected, but he was more than willing to take it.

She let it go on for about a minute or so before she broke away, scooted back, and grabbed one of her fluffier, bigger pillows which she then covered herself with. Cerise was grinning, knowing that he was going to be incredibly frustrated with her. She felt that he was getting too impatient anyways. He needed to be knocked down a few notches. That'd teach him to tease her. "I think I'm gonna need a little more proof." Now she eyed him snuggling into her pillow. He was the one who’d started it, he only had himself to blame.

Now she had again done something that was completely new to him. Vanderwood was left there with an aching need and a stunned look on his face, which quickly turned to frustration. God damn it, he was in pain, but not the kind of pain he was proving against. Frustration had his eyebrow twitching. He'd known he was playing with fire, known it would bite him in the ass, but he'd been banking on her needing him too much to fight him. Big mistake. Vanderwood was frustrated, not with her, but with himself for being a dumb ass.

He eyed her just like she was eyeing him before moving towards her again, taking one of her hands that she'd wrapped around the pillow and positioning himself to sit next to her legs, his hip to her thigh. "More proof, huh?" Vanderwood kissed each individual finger before nipping at the pad of her thumb and kissing down her forearm, following up along her arm to her shoulder and neck as his other hand slid up what of her leg he could touch before the pillow got in the way.

His lips found her ear, mumbling softly before he dragged his teeth along her earlobe. "What if I take care of you first then, mon amour?" Would he be able to manage that without getting carried away? Yes...as much as he was throbbing for her, he knew he wasn't going to take anything she wasn't willing to give him. That kiss on the stairs had been it. Vanderwood would never go further than that. He wasn't about to give up now, though, and this was the only thing he could think of.

She had to commend him on his persistence. Cerise probably would have mentally kicked herself if he had given up, as unlikely as she thought it was. The way he was treating her so lovingly, even though she had purposefully irritated him, made her feel slightly guilty for it. The kisses made her gasp involuntarily and flush red...and then his voice and his lips and teeth on her earlobe. Cerise was certainly reacting to it, and it only made her ache for him more.

The way she was reacting had him smirking a little; he just couldn't help it. Vanderwood was going to win out in the end, knowing he was the more experienced one and the one to actually make a move. Her hard-won edge was being lost. She threw the pillow to the side and easily climbed into his lap, straddling him and pressing her body flush against his. Cerise caressed his face with the back of her hand and the smirk was back. "Oh~? And how would you do that?" Her eyes were challenging him. It was only fair, he had teased her after all. What an ego he must have to attempt something that dumb. Cerise didn't even think about how she should be screaming at herself in embarrassment, because revenge was so sweet. This experience would definitely teach him that she was the champion of teasing.

Holy shit, she was in his lap now. Granted, she'd been in his lap before, but not naked. Vanderwood's face was so damn red, and he couldn't talk at first to reply to her question, looking at her like a deer caught in the headlights. "I...how...do you want me to do it?" Any control he'd had, all of the confidence of his experience, it had flown right out the window thanks to her teasing. How was he supposed to function, exactly?  He mentally slapped himself, getting somewhat out of his stupor, at least enough to run his hand down her back to cup her ass, the other stroking through her hair. "I'll do whatever you want, ma moitié..." Vanderwood was suddenly not in control for the first time in his life, and he felt like he should be panicking, but he was surprisingly comfortable...probably because it was his Cerise. Not that any woman before really could have hurt him, but he'd never have given control to any of them.

Victory tasted so sweet to Cerise. Marion seemed to be at a complete loss for words, and she could almost physically see any confidence he had melt away. It was beautiful, really. "Whatever I want?" She repeated the question before she kissed him, torturously slow, feeling his hand bunching in her hair. What did she want him to do? Well, she knew what her body wanted, but her experience was pretty limited to what he had previously shown her.

She broke the kiss and moved to his neck, placing soft kisses to it down to his collar bone. "What I want..." Cerise debated momentarily before nuzzling into him. "Show me...can you show me what you like? Without treating me like I'm a piece of China. I want...to learn...how to make you feel good, too." She was supposed to be teasing him, but she couldn't help but to feel flustered as she said those words. His breathing had hitched, and he didn't think his heart would be able to restart, but somehow, he was surviving. Her request had him a little flabbergasted. "What I...like? I like you." First response, as true as it was, also was not helpful. There were things he remembered enjoying from a purely carnal point of view with other women but thinking about her doing them...

Cerise shook her head at his response. That wasn’t what she meant at all. At the end of the day, she was terribly inexperienced and wasn't sure yet exactly what all she liked or disliked. They would find out what she enjoyed doing with him together, but he had so much that he could teach her. She found her way back to his neck and trailed kisses to his shoulder where she bit down hard, giving him the same treatment that he had given her earlier. Cerise left a rather dark mark in her wake as she moved up to his ear, whispering, "Teach me, mon amour~" before nibbling softly on the lobe.

Vanderwood’s mind blanked completely when she bit him, arms tightening around her as he let out a groan. He needed her so badly, and every little thing she did only made it worse. Bloody Hell, he wasn't going to survive today. What mess had he gotten himself into? It was a good death at least. Her whisper had him shivering in anticipation, and if she wasn't trying to kill him, he'd be surprised. "Okay...Okay..." Vanderwood pulled back to look into her eyes, thoughts going to even worse places than they had when he'd woken her up.

He removed his hand from her hair and brought it around to take her chin, his thumb tugging at her lower lip. "Remember the new thing I showed you last time?" Would that be too much for her? Thanks to the intensity of his current need, the other things he had in mind for her were all too much like being with one of his whores, and she was far more than that. Maybe he could manage those things another time, when he felt it would be less of him just taking what he wanted. "Would you...want to learn something like that, but for me?"

She nodded, no resistance despite that he was holding her chin. Oh, she definitely remembered. Cerise had found it to be so weird at first. If you really thought about it, sex in itself was bizarre. He was asking her if she wanted to learn something similar. "Of course~" She took his hand and kissed his thumb before moving to brush his bangs back with her hand and placing a kiss to his forehead.

"Marion," She started, leaning back so she could properly look him in the eyes. "I want you to know...just because I want you to teach me...and handle me a little more roughly..." She pulled him closer, burying her head into his shoulder as she ghosted her hands along his back and moved her hips to grind into his again, creating a blissful friction between them both. "...Remember...that I'm the one in control." He’d lost that right when he decided to challenge her, the jerk. It was exhilarating for her to have that kind of power over him...someone twice her size who could literally break her if he wanted to. Cerise gave him one more kiss, this time quicker and more on the rough side.

She had no idea what was coming over her, maybe just being in this sort of mood made her feel incredibly powerful and bold? Cerise felt like the longer she waited this out and played this game...the more she needed him. It just made her forget any insecurities, and it made it harder to think about anything but how much she was aching for him. This was a mess.

Her tenderness was in stark contrast to the way they were both clearly feeling, but it had had Vanderwood blushing nonetheless. And then the tenderness was gone. She was really taking control, and he wasn't going to stop her. The feeling of her hands on his back, the way she ground her hips once more against his, he was putty in her hands, whether he wanted to admit it or not. Even her kiss was rougher and more demanding than usual, some sort of new confidence having slipped into her system.

There was just one thing worrying Vanderwood now. "Just stop me if I hurt you..." That was his only condition for this whole mess. He was a lot stronger than her and twice her size to boot, if she wanted to not be treated like a china doll, she was going to have to be prepared for potentially getting hurt. "If you don't want me to be careful...you're going to have to stop me when it's not okay." Honestly, he was a little nervous about it now. Hurting Cerise...just the idea had him tightening his arms around her.

Cerise raised an eyebrow at him. It wasn't like she was going to let him manhandle her. "Trust me, mon amour. I'll definitely let you know. I'm not saying use your full strength, ya know." She had seen what he was capable of, and she was not about that life. All she wanted was for him to throw some of his caution into the wind, much like he had shown her with the rougher kiss just a little earlier. Cerise wanted that but with everything. With her low pain tolerance, she'd be insane if she were to request that he just completely let loose on her. He was just so worried about her that she couldn’t help but to be touched.

He locked his eyes with hers, this woman that he loved so damn much, that he wanted to protect, the other half to his soul; and he just relaxed, putting his faith in her that she would stop him if she needed to. Cerise felt herself blushing harder under the intensity of his gaze. There was just something about his eyes that made her feel like she was baring her soul to him.

Vanderwood moved carefully to lie back onto the bed, trying to breathe properly despite the view he had of her still in his lap. After a second, he realized that, right, he had to teach her. "So...move on downwards...Take your time if you need to." His brain was simultaneously yelling at him that no, she shouldn't take her time, because he needed her right now, but he ignored that thought as best he could.

She watched as he laid onto his back with her still straddling him. The view she had of him was nothing short of breathtaking. Cerise had to take a moment to compose herself, because God, she loved this man and God, was he absolutely sexy...and hers. She really was lucky. Her thoughts were once again broken by his voice. "Oh! Okay then." Cerise had a pretty good idea of what was happening, but she wasn't all too sure of things execution-wise. She moved downwards as he had instructed her to do, looking to him for confirmation when she had.

Bloody Hell, that was a sight. Vanderwood bit his tongue. Okay, so she was down there, now what? He had never had to instruct anyone on sex before, and he wasn't even sure how well he could trust his tongue and head to function properly at the moment. Right now he really just wanted her to touch him. "Um...good...now just...the bottom side is more sensitive, and the tip is the most sensitive." Good information, functioning brain, internally screaming mostly quiet, so far so good. "Now...if you just...well you should play around, but I can um...tell you a couple things I like..." Okay...so maybe not good, but he was at least able to talk? "You can...lick up from the bottom to the top and then...swirl your tongue around the tip...anything you want to do with your hands is fine..." Good start, right? Bloody Hell, his face was red. He was going to die today; he knew it. Vanderwood was already dying, but he had a feeling that as soon as she touched him it would be even worse...or better, really.

Him being nervous was going to make _her_ feel super nervous. She listened to the information he was giving her with a flush. Cerise noted that his face was pretty red, too, which only added to the nerves. If anything, he looked a little...worried? If he didn't calm down, she was going to lose her nerve. "Marion, just relax...okay?" Just a moment ago, he had been completely calm, but now he felt so tense. Cerise moved back up so she could give him a soft kiss, lingering there for about a minute before she broke it and moved onto his jawline, and then to kiss neck, placing kisses all along his body.

Obviously, she could feel the nerves off of him; it's not like he was doing a very good job of hiding it, but then she was back up to him kissing him gently and making his heart melt even in a moment like this. Her travel downwards had him closing his eyes, focusing in on breathing, which got just a little more ragged the lower she went. It was something she ended up finding enjoyable, getting to explore his body that way.

Eventually, she found herself back where he had instructed her to be. She placed a kiss to his hip bone as she gently took his length in her other hand, trailing her thumb along the underside, his soft sound at the touch making her feel more excited than nervous. Cerise took note that he was very hard. It was no wonder that he had been impatient with her. Too bad he was going to have to wait longer now. His hands now tightened on the sheets below them.

She figured that maybe he should learn to take his time anyways. Cerise didn't exactly know everything about those days in his life, but with as impatient as he had been with her...it must have been so much more prominent back then. A little patience could be good for him. Vanderwood was just watching her now, his breathing feeling labored. Cerise was taking her sweet time, and he didn’t even think she needed any direction if her just touching him had him this messed up.

Finally, she moved to kiss his tip, moving her hand out of the way enough to then gently trail her kisses down to the bottom before trying what he had suggested, licking back up again and slowly swirling her tongue around the tip when she got there. She could taste the bit of fluid that had built up there, but it wasn't bad. Better than black coffee, at least. When she finished, she kissed the tip again and looked towards him, a heavy blush apparent on her face. "...Was that right?"

"Fuck..." He groaned out the word when she did as he'd instructed, and he was in some sort of heaven, even if he could feel that little bit of tentativeness. "Yeah...that was right." His voice was so low and breathy that he wasn't even sure if she'd heard him. She felt a little more confident to see his reaction and to hear she had done it correctly, even if she had to strain to hear him. The look he had about him was most definitely worth cutting things off earlier. Somehow, she enjoyed seeing him at her mercy. Cerise could hear her own heart beating hard in her chest. Doing this kind of thing with him also felt like she was closer to him, because she got to experience this level of intimacy with him.

Vanderwood cleared his throat and looked down to her again. Yeah, that sight was getting burned into his memory. "Now you take me into your mouth and suck. If you want to use teeth...drag them along lightly. Be careful. And don't bite." It would be so much easier to say 'Just lick it like a lollipop' for his embarrassment, but he knew that wasn't how it worked, and she'd asked him to teach her what he liked. Cerise nodded only slightly before repeating the same action as before and then seamlessly transitioning to taking him into her mouth, giving him an experimental suck before pulling away to glance at him for a moment. Yeah, she definitely enjoyed seeing him like that.

Bloody fucking Hell, it felt so good. She wasn't experienced, yet this was the best he'd ever experienced. It couldn't just be that it was her, could it? Vanderwood pushed up on one arm so he could watch her, his hand finding her hair and tangling into it, bunching tight. Cerise was being so slow, and it took him a moment to realize that he was feeling her touches skin to skin. That's right...this was the first time he was experiencing this without a condom. Either way, though, he had a feeling he would have been putty; he was putty. She had him right where she wanted him right now, and no matter what she did, he was moaning her name and curse words.

It was still such a weird concept for her, but she was finding she didn't mind it. Plus, the reactions she was getting out of him were golden, and she wanted more of them. There was no way she was going to attempt to fit all of him in her mouth, and she wasn't about to make herself look like a moron and try to. As inexperienced as she was, she had a pretty good idea of how to go about this after being given some general instructions.

She licked at the tip again before taking him back into her mouth, figuring she could use her hand to touch him where her mouth couldn't. Cerise was purposely slow about it, being sure to take her time, because she was enjoying it and wanted him to as well. That and she wanted to make sure she could easily change if she did anything that made him uncomfortable. She tried alternating between both licking and sucking to see what would get the most response out of him, periodically using her teeth to graze him like he had suggested, careful to be gentle and not accidentally bite him or anything.

How the Hell was he supposed to make it through this? Vanderwood felt like with as hard and needy as he was, just a few quick moves and she'd have him over the edge. It didn't seem like she was about to let that happen too fast. He bunched his hand tighter in her hair as he felt her teeth, leaning his head back towards the ceiling. "Fucking Hell...Cerise" Anything he said seemed to slip off into a long moan.

Should he warn her about how close he was? She seemed like she was just fine going slow at the moment. "If you...move too fast..." Damn, it was hard to talk past the sensation of her mouth on him. "I'll cum..." All of his experience was crap compared to this, her in control and him as just the suggestion box. "You can...suck on my balls...or rub or play with them." Now he wasn't even really helping himself get to the end goal, but he was actually enjoying this way more than he'd ever have thought he could.

The reactions and sounds she was getting from him were exactly what she wanted and urged her on more. His hand in her hair let her know that she was doing something right, too. The better she did, the more his hand would grip her. It was like she could feel his every word, every moan in her very core. He was telling her how close he was, warning her, really. Had he been giving her suggestions on how to prolong it? That was a little surprising, to say the least.

Cerise didn't want him to cum just yet, so she gave one more light suck to his tip before moving slightly more down at his suggestion, keeping her hand on his length for slow, light strokes to keep him from going over the edge. She used her mouth to suck on him first for a bit as per his suggestion and then switched to using her other hand to gently massage while she kissed and nipped at his inner thigh, ending up leaving a few marks there. Cerise couldn't help but to want to leave more marks on him. Vanderwood had closed his eyes again, choosing not to bite his tongue for safety reasons. She had taken his advice, and as much as he was wound so tight and wanted to finish, there was just something addicting about her being in control like this. He let up on her hair as she tapped his hand to let him know that he was pulling too hard, glad she'd directed him.

There was far too strong of a heat for her now, the way he was clearly lost in the pleasure of what she was doing to him intoxicating in a way. Now she moved back up to place a kiss on his lips. She buried her face in his neck, nuzzling there, "...I need you to touch me. I don't care where; just do it." Her voice was low and needy. The way her body had been reacting made every cell in her scream out to be touched by him, and if anything, she wanted them to be able to finish together.

The new hickeys on his thigh had only made him moan her name and want to pull her up to him, take over. He kept that feeling back, thankful that she now was back up by him, giving him a kiss which he returned eagerly. Her request sounded so needy, but he wouldn't have refused anyway. Vanderwood moved to roll her onto her side, his hand moving along her body to find her legs, giving her thigh a rough squeeze as he caught her lips with his, a rough kiss to steal her breath. The change in position had caused her to gasp out, but it was cut off by the rough kiss he was giving her. It seemed he had taken her request to heart, which she loved, but there was still a certain carefulness to him which she also appreciated.

Impatience was like a living thing now, but she was in charge. It was irritating and yet surprisingly sexy. Vanderwood broke the kiss to nuzzle her nose. "I'd like to take you now..." He moved to grind against her a little. "If my Cerise wants..." The fact that he had to ask her permission, it was so strange, and yet he loved it. His body almost seemed to be pissed at him, muscles tight and body hot as flames, all thanks to her.

Cerise was finding it harder to breathe when he broke the kiss, nuzzling her and asking permission to take her. Half of her wanted to ask, 'Where?' That thought shut up quickly once he grinded against her even just a little. The movement had soft moans escaping her lips. There was no mistaking what that meant. She bit her lip and replied by grinding against him in return slowly. Her body felt so hot, and her need for him felt like it was driving her crazy. All in all, it was worth waiting it out. Cerise got to spend more time with him like this, got to know his body better and more about herself, too. "Marion...please take me now..." She breathed it out, placing a kiss to his jawline.

Fucking shit, just the words were enough to drive him crazy. Vanderwood used the grip he had on her thigh to move her leg over his hip, so he could enter her. He moved slowly, not because he had to for her, but because he was skirting the edge. Vanderwood wasn't about to finish without her. He took a moment to breathe as he felt her slick heat wrapped around him, his other hand now burying itself in her hair, pressing against the back of her head to pull her in for another kiss. This kiss was much slower but every bit as passionate as he began to move, using his grip on her thigh for more leverage. It was heaven. She was heaven.

Her breath had hitched when he entered her, and she clung to him tightly. She knew he was rather close and didn't mind the slowness of it, knowing he was being considerate of her. Even though their statures were vastly different, like this, she thought it felt like they were made for each other, just another thing that screamed that they were meant to find each other. Anywhere he touched her, it felt like fire. Cerise wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him close to her, even joined like this, she always wanted him closer. The way he kissed her was slow and passionate, which she had returned in kind as he finally began to move, causing her to hold on to him more tightly.

He broke the kiss to moan against her lips. "Je' taime, mon amour." Cerise had him wrapped around her little finger from now until forever, and he didn't care one bit. In fact, he wanted it that way now. Vanderwood had apparently been waiting for it all his life. After he broke the kiss, she was barely able to get out a reply, every attempt turning into a moan before she was finally able to respond to him in a broken-up manner...but still a response nonetheless. “Je…taime aussi…ma…rion.”

Cerise's body seemed to automatically move against him on its own before she realized she was even doing it. He felt absolutely amazing, and she was wound up so tightly herself that it wasn't taking all that much to bring her closer and closer to the edge. All the teasing and the way she had dragged things out seemed to have just primed her for a quicker finish. It worked out in her mind, because she was almost positive he was right there with her.

He wanted to keep her close like this forever, not just on the sexual level, but the intimacy of it, being close to her like no one else ever would be. The way she couldn't quite answer him past her moans, fuck. Vanderwood was going to completely lose it, but she was right there with him. The way her body clenched around his and the few words she managed to get out, she was definitely right there with him. That now familiar feeling was slowly building up inside of her, threatening to unfurl, "Marion...I'm..." She wasn't able to get much more out, the intense pleasure she was feeling seemingly stealing away her words, only allowing her to moan out his name. They didn't always need words anyways. Cerise was sure he'd know, especially with the way she could feel herself involuntarily begin to clench around him more.

Vanderwood couldn't respond to her, all he did was hold her tighter, the tightening of her heat around him finally driving him over the edge. His groans were trapped against her lips, one hand was clenched in her hair, and the other had its grip on her thigh. How wasn't he hurting her? He let his grip go as he tried to catch and even his breath. Pulling back to look at her face, his own was flushed just as much as hers. He couldn't help but for once praise whatever God there was, for this perfect woman he'd been blessed with. No matter how irritating, she was his, and he loved her more than anything. "You...okay, shortcake? I...didn't hurt you?" Gently he ran his hand over her thigh, rubbing lightly at the spot he'd been gripping onto for dear life. Should he have remained more careful despite her request that he not treat her so gently?

She wasn't too sure who reached their climax first, but it was almost simultaneous as they both clung to each other, letting it wash over them. Cerise was pretty sure her thigh was going to bruise at least a little, but she didn't really care. Marion was rubbing at the spot, but she didn't really feel any pain. Now she was just appreciating the way he looked right after they'd finished making love. He was breathtaking. She couldn't help but to stare up at him as she tried to catch her own breath. "I'm...yeah. You... didn't hurt me, mon amour. It was...you were amazing." Her voice was still breathy.

There was now a slight dull pain on her thigh that she hadn't noticed before, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. It was worth it, and she had liked it. Cerise nuzzled into his neck after she composed herself a little more, "Are you going to let me sleep a little more?" As much as she enjoyed the surprise sex, it was still way too early for her, and what she wanted was to examine the back of her eyelids for an hour or two.

Vanderwood didn't realize his face could get any darker, but her compliments sure had that happening. "I...you too..." He kissed the side of her head lightly as she snuggled into him before he moved just enough to look at her thigh. She would probably bruise just slightly, but if she said it was fine, then it must be. Vanderwood pulled her as tight as he could, snorting softly at her request. "Sure, mon amour...you take a nap. I'm not letting you leave this bed until I'm done holding you anyway." Well, he was certainly at maximum redness, but after their time apart and the long time since they'd last done this, yeah...he needed her close, almost as much as he needed air. "You're not going anywhere for a while." He nuzzled her hair lightly.

"Sounds...good." She yawned and closed her eyes, feeling completely relaxed. Cerise didn't care enough to get dressed again, and it seemed he didn't either. That was ok by her. She wasn't about to argue with being kept in the bed, because that's exactly where she wanted to be. Cerise mumbled something before her breathing finally evened, and she was asleep.  She suspected that if he let her sleep in, she could very well make it until the afternoon just sleeping the day away. He laid there listening to her soft breathing and lightly stroking her hair for a good while, staring off into space, thoughts traveling to the idea that they were engaged. Someday soon...ish? They would be married. Karma hadn’t earned him that right, but he had it, and he wasn’t going to waste it.

He looked over at the clock. Wow, maybe he'd been laying here for over an hour thinking, because now it was already nearly noon. That was like losing a whole day for him. Vanderwood shuffled a little to gently nudge Cerise. "Shortcake...I think we should wake up and get ready for the day. I know I need a shower, do you?" He was personally wide awake, and even though he knew how hard of a sleeper she was, it was still amazing to him that she could sleep so well when it was already so late in the day.

The only thing she responded with was an uninspired, "Mmph..." as she grabbed for one of the numerous pillows around her and put it over her head. If she didn't wake up on her own, it was obviously not the time to wake up. Marion was an early bird it looked like while she was nothing of the sort. The only way she'd be up that early was if she stayed up until that early instead of sleeping the previous night. It took her all of a minute to completely fall asleep again, another thing she was obviously talented at.

What was that noise supposed to mean exactly? Vanderwood looked at her for a little while before deciding that he wasn't letting her sleep in any longer. Cerise could probably sleep the day away at this rate. He picked her up carefully, trying not to focus too much on the fact that they were both still naked. Vanderwood turned on the warm water in the shower, surprised to find that she was very much still asleep before stepping in with her. He had to turn around a bit or he would be stealing all the water, but now they were each getting hit by the warm water.

As soon as Cerise felt water hit her, her eyes shot open, and she began to flail around wildly. "You can't just--where am--" There was a moment of stillness and silence as she processed what was going on, and her eyes widened. "OH MY GOD." There was more wild flailing as she struggled to get away from the water and shower. "YOU DIDN'T POUR THE BUBBLE BATH DOWN THE DRAIN, MARION!" This was not good, not good at all, at this rate..."What if sharks come up the drain now!? THE BUBBLES KEEP THEM AWAY. IT BURNS THEIR EYES."

Okay, so she was flailing. Thanks to the water, she was rather slippery, but Vanderwood did his best to tighten his grip and hang on without hurting her. "What? Cerise, calm down!" He tried to keep an even tone as she was freaking out, but he really wasn't sure what to do in the moment. What would bubbles keep away anyway? The shark comment made no sense whatsoever. Vanderwood moved to position himself between her and the water. "Cerise, everything is fine. You're fine. There's nothing in the drain." He figured it was best just to try to dissuade her fears right now rather than trying to understand what she was talking about, because obviously he had no idea, and he wasn't going to come to a conclusion on his own.

"Oh my god, Marion. Don't just stand there!" Cerise was finally able to get an arm free and grab the impressively large bottle of bubble bath by her shower, pouring some down the drain. Only then did she relax and look at Vanderwood, frowning. "Sharks, Marion. Sharks." Okay, so she knew that sharks couldn't come up the pipes, but she still felt like maybe they could. Maybe they could find a way. Even if there was a microscopic chance that they could, she was not about to let some fish chomp on her while she was naked and vulnerable in the shower.

Bubbles hurt when they got in Cerise's eyes, so they must hurt the sharks. Cerise had been shark-free for her entire life by pouring just a little bubble bath down the drain or by taking bubble baths; she wasn't about to risk it now. She would survive. "...Even if there's a tiny chance they could come up the pipes, it's a risk I don't want to take. You said you wanted to protect me, Marion! Jeeze.”

Vanderwood could actually feel the confusion fall off of and be replaced by some mixture between irritation and just...He could literally not understand how on Earth she would think that there were sharks in the tub. It felt like he was going to say something completely rude, so he just opened and closed his mouth a few times before he could finally jumble something together properly. Her tone with him had his eyebrow twitching. As though he should have known that he needed to protect her from sharks in the fucking shower. What the Hell?

Finally, he managed to as least get to a more gently brusque tone. "I do and will protect you, but there aren't any sharks in the drain. That is impossible." Now that she was awake and not flailing around anymore, he gently placed her down, finding her chin with his hand. Thankfully, his broad back blocked out the spray, so he could have her look in his eyes. "There are no sharks, bubble bath or not." Vanderwood wasn't intending to, but it sounded just a little like he was talking to a child, and then the question he'd really been meaning to ask just slipped out. "Why in God's name would you think that anyway?"

Cerise stared at him, stone faced. When he placed her down, she straightened herself up and ran her fingers through her hair briefly before he took her chin with his hand. "Yes, I know there aren't sharks. I'm not dumb. I'm concerned with the possibility of sharks." What wasn't he getting? It seemed simple enough of a concept to her. It was a little irritating that he seemed to be talking down to her like she was an infant or something. At his next question she shrugged. "I think...someone mentioned it in grade school? Ever since then I've been open to the possibility." Cerise suddenly realized that she was still kinda naked and quickly brushed her fingers through her hair again to strategically cover herself with the long locks. "I erm..." Words, use them. Oh no...now her face was turning red. Cerise quickly turned her back to him, "I--maybe the better question is why are we in the shower...? Did you need help or...?”

Vanderwood bit his tongue. Better to just drop the issue than to start fighting about it. She obviously seemed to understand it wasn't possible, and yet somehow it was still a problem? It didn't make much sense but whatever. Cerise looked like she'd realized something and then she was blushing and using her hair to cover herself somewhat then actually turning her back to him. Vanderwood coughed and started to turn red as well. "I mean...no...You were going to sleep the day away otherwise, and I figured we both needed a shower after...this morning's...yeah." Wow, he couldn't even say 'after having sex.' Such a wonderful talent with words he had, really. He rubbed the back of his head, his hair already good and wet. "Now that we're in here we might as well shower together...If uh...that's okay?" She seemed a little uncomfortable, so if it was too much for her, it wouldn't take him long to get done and get out. "I'll finish up and leave...if that's easier."

Well, he did have a point...and considering that they had had sex not that long ago...Why was she even being so shy? There was literally nothing that she had that he hadn't already seen before. What time even was it? She didn't feel like she’d slept all that long. Somehow, she figured she was going to have to get used to being up early in the morning. Oh well..."Wait!" She turned around again and went to hug him, deciding not to care, as much as she could, that they were both naked. "I'm...It's fine. Please stay." Showering together could be fun. Cerise could totally wash his hair for him! She stepped away and took a look at him. Okay...maybe not. At least she could comfortably wash his back for him? If he'd let her, that is. "My shampoo and body-wash smell kinda girly...that okay with you?"

He was a little surprised when she actually turned back around and hugged him. Vanderwood bit his tongue, maybe a little harder than he'd meant to, and winced before he wrapped his arms around her, too, giving the top of her head a small kiss. This could be really nice, honestly. If she'd let him, he could easily wash her hair, or help anyway. She had so much of it that he wondered how she managed it on her own. Her question had him snorting a little. "Yeah, girly is fine. I probably smell like you at this point anyway."

His face felt as warm as the shower water, and he let go of her to rub the back of his head again. "I uh....you know because of...your sheets and stuff...Anyway, I don't mind. You always smell amazing to me, so..." Good, some cheesy compliments in the shower, too. "I'll...move so you can get some water. I think I'm blocking it all." He shifted carefully to let her take up the space closer to the shower head. "Would you mind if I helped you wash your hair?" It seemed silly, but he really wanted to. Her hair was something he absolutely loved about her appearance. Granted, he loved everything about her, even that tone when he didn't know about the damn sharks.

She almost didn't hear his question because when he moved, she was sprayed in the face by the shower. Now she turned and rubbed her eyes, letting the warm water wash over her hair instead of attacking her in the face. Cerise's eyes lit up for a moment. He wanted to wash her hair? That sounded amazing to her. She gave an enthusiastic, "Yes!" and grabbed a shampoo bottle. Cerise had a few different ones in an array of scents and chose a honey vanilla scent for that day, handing Marion the bottle. "Lemme get my hair wet...might take a second."

Maybe he should have given her more warning before moving, but then her mood changed completely. Cerise was far more up for it than he had thought she would be, but of course he didn't mind. Vanderwood was just happy she was actually going to let him. "Take your time." It took her what seemed like way too long to him, but obviously all the hair care was worth it, or she would have cut it a long time ago. He took good care of his own, somewhat obsessing over trying to make it look neat but never able to do so. It looked much neater long than it did when it was short, so he kept it on the longer side for the sake of his sanity.

Cerise focused the next two or so minutes on getting her hair completely wet. That was the downside of having long hair, it took forever to do anything with, but to her, the look was well worth it. She glanced at Marion. He actually had long hair for a guy, at least nowhere near as long as hers. It actually suited him somehow, and she definitely didn't mind it. When she was confident that her hair was completely wet, she gave him the ok. "Be careful not to get any into my eyes...that would suck."

He snorted a little at her comment before he put some of the shampoo she'd chosen in the palm of his hand, setting the bottle aside. "Yeah that would suck. Don't worry, I used to..." Vanderwood bit his tongue just a second as he processed what he was saying. "I used to wash Caleb's hair. When he was little." He looked at her for a second, trying to swallow the lump that had built in his throat and then slid his hands into her hair to lather it. That was a welcome distraction from the sting of grief.

"I'm sorry..." If she didn't hear that over the sound of the water, he wouldn't be surprised, but he felt rather guilty, making something happy tainted with something so...bittersweet. He cleared his throat roughly as he worked on her hair before apologizing again. "I didn't mean to make this...I'm sorry." The shampoo smelled amazing. He hadn't checked the label before he'd started using it, but it smelled like vanilla and honey, which was soothing.

Cerise's heart sank listening to him, seeing the sad expression on his face as he talked about his late brother. She couldn't imagine how it must have felt, how it must still feel now. Cerise couldn't pretend to understand what he was going through or went through before. All she could do was be there for him. "Marion...it's okay. There's nothing wrong with missing him." She reached up to cup the side of his face, rubbing her thumb there. "You never need to apologize...I'm sure it's hard." Cerise had the thought that at least he was coping by talking about it instead of going off the deep end.

Talking through things, to her, seemed much better than resorting to sex and cigarettes all the time when the going got tough. "Please...just let it out when you feel like you need to. I'm here for you, and I'll be here tomorrow and each day after that." Cerise knew that he still had a lot of healing to do. Marion was a broken man. He was surely healing, but he was still broken. She didn't think the sting of Caleb's death would ever go away, but she thought that at least one day he would stop blaming himself and come to terms with it. Cerise would be sure to be there with him every step of the way.

Vanderwood turned his head to lightly kiss her hand. He felt vulnerable, maybe even a little weak. Recently, for the first time in ages he had cried, and now he felt like doing it again. Yet, he was okay. It felt like he could do this, could handle it. After a deep breath, he nodded. "I'll try..." His heart had positively melted when she said she would be there for him, that she _was_ there for him. It was also just a little panic inducing, because what the Hell would he do without her now? Vanderwood didn't want to think about it. If he had anything to say about it, nothing would happen to her.

Cerise gave him a warm smile. Trying was all he could really do; he just needed time to finally properly heal. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his hands in her hair. It felt like heaven. He resumed his lathering of her hair, probably a little longer than was strictly necessary before starting on helping her to wash it out. "As long as I'm with you...I think I'll be okay." They hadn't been together that long, and he'd already quit smoking. He certainly wasn't sleeping around, although he still worried when he got irritated, but he felt better, healthier, more like a normal person.

When it came time to wash out the soap she felt a little disappointed, but then she figured that if she really wanted it, she could perhaps request for him to massage her head at some point...or just run his hands through her hair continually. Either worked for her. "I know you will~" Cerise moved to grab a bottle of conditioner and then put it in her hair. It could sit there while she did other things before she was ready to wash it out. "I kinda...I wanna wash your hair, too but..." She gestured at him and then towards herself. "You're a giant."

Vanderwood didn’t question her about the conditioner, knowing that it would make her hair much softer to leave it in. There often wasn’t time for him to do the same when he was cleaning off after a mission, but whenever he got the chance to, he would. His face had cooled down previously, but now he was blushing again, his heart seemingly having just put itself back to normal before melting once more. She wanted to wash his hair? No one had ever done that for him.

He always loved it when she had her hands in his hair, even just lightly playing with it...so it seemed like it would feel wonderful. Vanderwood snorted softly at her comment on his size, though. "Yeah...I guess I am." Thinking about it, he figured he could sit comfortably in the shower, not for too extended a period of time but certainly long enough for her to wash his hair. "Just a second..." He moved to sit with his back to her. "Does...this work for you?"

"That's perfect!" She was excited. Now she could wash his hair, too. Cerise grabbed the same bottle of shampoo that she had chosen for herself and squeezed some into her hand. Shortly after, she realized that it might have been slightly too much, since she was used to the amount it took to wash her own hair. Cerise decided to shrug it off. At least his hair would smell extra good?

She went to work on lathering his hair, making sure to massage his scalp well as she hummed happily. It was much easier to wash his hair than it was to wash her own. Sometimes hers seemed like a chore, but his felt delightful, and she loved doing it. Plus, she just kinda liked having her hands in his hair. It felt so good. He hadn't quite expected it. Vanderwood closed his eyes and just enjoyed it. Usually he loved her hands in his hair, but somehow this was even nicer. It was just...intimate somehow, and he loved it. Her humming had him smiling, too and humming along just a little. Was that a normal thing to do? This was just a wonderful moment. Never had he thought he would get to experience something like this, but now it was going down in history as one of his most treasured memories.

Cerise rinsed his hair now, passing her fingers through his hair to get all the soap out before adding some conditioner. "You should keep this in at least while you bathe, makes your hair feel softer, and the smell stays better~ Trust me." He softly grunted in acknowledgement of her comment about the conditioner, not feeling like explaining that he already knew. Vanderwood moved to stand up carefully and then bent to give her a light kiss, ignoring the fact that they were nude as best he could. "Thank you...I really enjoyed that..."

Now she flashed him a smile. "Me too~ Let's do this more often, 'kay?" Cerise did enjoy showering with him; it was something so simple, and yet it made it feel like they were closer, like everything was and had been normal. She decided to grab a vanilla scented body-wash that complimented the shampoo and conditioner she’d used and lathered it onto a sponge. "I have different scents, pick one you'll like~" Vanderwood just shrugged at first. "Sounds good to me, but whatever you're using is fine." He was confused as to why she needed multiple scents, but maybe that was a girl thing. At any rate, she always smelled great, so he wasn't complaining.

She began to properly bathe and was actually rather quick about it. It was normally just her hair that would take forever and a day to take care of. Cerise looked to him and grinned, "Wanna wash my back too~? Kinda hard to reach, ya know." She didn't really wait for him to answer before shoving her sponge at him and turning, moving her hair over her shoulder to expose her back to him, a soft giggle in her tone. "I can get yours after; I can at least reach there."

Her question had him blushing like an idiot as he looked at her bare back. She was beautiful. Vanderwood had taken the sponge she’d shoved his way, but now he kissed her shoulder gently before he started to wash off her back. "I guess you _can_ reach there." She was short in comparison, but even as small as she was, it's not like he really was a giant. He finished off and handed the sponge back to her before turning his back to her, so she could start him off. Earlier he’d mostly just been staring at her instead of washing up. “I’ll just wash off after you get my back.”

Cerise nodded but then realized that he couldn't see her with his back turned. So smart. "Yep, I gotcha!" She added more soap to the sponge and started. There was a lot more area to cover for him, but she enjoyed that. Luckily, even if her head couldn't reach anything, he hands could, and she didn't have to make too much of a fuss washing his back. Cerise finished up his back and made sure he was in front of the shower, since it would take him less time. "You can wash the conditioner out now. "

Vanderwood had shuffled in front of the water now, per her nudging for him to do so. Having someone else wash your back it was...well, he didn't know much about romance really, but he thought maybe that's what it was? Romantic? He should listen to some romance music or watch some romance movies soon, just to get some knowledge on how to do more of that for her rather than being cheesy. He washed off the rest of his body before he finished off with the conditioner as she'd suggested.

He gave her a little nudge to warn her he was moving out of the stream before he did so again, not wanting her to get sprayed in the eyes like earlier. This was the best shower he'd ever had, even if it seemed to take over twice as long. Cerise was happy not to be sprayed in the face again when he moved, starting on removing the conditioner from her hair, which was always a more tedious task than rinsing out shampoo. "Once you're done, I think we should dry off and get lunch. We kind of...missed breakfast." He coughed softly thinking about what they'd done instead of breakfast, and he had to look away from her up at the ceiling just to keep his mind from wandering.

She had just finished when he spoke. "Yeah, I think I'm done..." A small blush rose to her face. Oh, they'd missed breakfast all right. "I...think it was worth missing breakfast." _Why. Not the time, yet again. Ugh._ Cerise shook her head and hopped out, grabbing three towels. Two for herself and then one for him. She wrapped one around herself and handed him one before towel drying her hair with the other towel and then taking care to wrap it up, so she could dry off the rest of herself. "You need another towel for your hair?"

Bloody Hell, she knew how to make him blush. "Uh...good." He’d followed her out of the shower, taking the towel offered. Vanderwood was already drying off his hair before he would move on to dry his body when she asked that question. "No, why?" Oh. She had one wrapped around her hair. He'd always just used the one towel. How had she even gotten her hair wrapped up in that? Vanderwood looked at her for a moment before he responded again. "I think I'm good with the one."

He finished drying off before wrapping the towel around his waist and going to the sink, deciding he might as well brush his teeth now. As he was brushing, he looked at her using the steamed over mirror, her blurry form there just as beautiful as the genuine item. It dawned on him that he'd just showered with her, been completely naked for at least the past forty-five minutes with her, and he hadn't even thought about having sex with her. In fact, he'd even remembered a moment with Caleb and still he hadn't wanted anything more from her than her presence.

Vanderwood rinsed his mouth and toothbrush as happiness welled up in him. He was getting so much better, and his chest felt so full, like his heart was growing in size. It was such a great feeling. Vanderwood bounded over to her to kiss her, grabbing the small of her back to pull her close as he did so, but missing her mouth and kissing the corner of it instead before he let go and hopped off into the room to get changed. Damn, he was happy.

She had been taking a moment to watch him as she got some of her post shower items out of a cabinet, and the next moment he had bounded over to her and planted a kiss on her...Except he horribly missed and got the side of her mouth and then just as quickly ran off into her room. Cerise just stood there for a minute in a confused stupor. That was strange. She thought it was adorable, but strange, for him at least. Cerise shrugged it off and made sure she was completely dry before putting on lotion and going to the sink and brushing her teeth.

Today felt like it was going to be a great day. It didn't take him long to get dressed, but it was taking her quite a while to blow dry her hair. It made sense why she would, though. His hair was already starting to dry at least a little, but considering how much hair she had, air drying it would probably take an eternity and a half. While she was in the bathroom, he got out his phone and started looking through her posts from the past day.

They were getting quite a bit of attention, and he couldn't help but smile at the reactions of her followers. Then he read a particular comment from a rather snooty looking asshole saying he was going to sweep Cerise back to Paris and marry her himself. That little dark feeling he was just starting to get _some_ grasp over bubbled up in his chest. Nope. Vanderwood responded `Try it.` Anyone trying to take Cerise away from him was going to meet with an unfortunate end. _That was a little intense_. He took a deep breath and just focused on the more positive comments, astounded by the sheer number of them.

As Cerise finished on blow-drying her hair, she gave it a quick brush before heading into her room to change. Checking her phone, she saw that the weather was still pretty cold...not cold enough to wear pants, obviously. She opted for a rather oversized sweater with a cute skirt along with her leggings and some flat boots. After getting completely dressed, she found him and pretty much kamikazed him with a hug.

Vanderwood was interrupted in his reading by her practically attacking him, and it took him just a second to recognize that, no, she wasn't an enemy, not that he'd been about to hurt her, but he had immediately scanned the room for an escape route. Nice. "So! What're the plans for today, mister fiancé?" Cerise asked in her familiar sing-song voice as she looked up at him, grinning widely. Her voice had the worry that had just built up slipping off him almost immediately. "What would you like to do, miss fiancée?" Damn, she was perfect.

Check out my website. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	20. Early Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood is woken by a familiar situation that is unfamiliar to his new domestic setting. A familiar face re-enters his life, though thankfully under new circumstances. This brings up a former problem that might leave Vanderwood struggling for a while.

***Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday = Cherrywood day!!! Welcome to my OC Crystal, who you'll be getting to know a little better in the next chapter. Please enjoy! ~Let's Connect! FFC***

Winter was well underway. It was nearly getting towards Christmas now, but the cold air outside wasn't bothering Vanderwood in the slightest as he held Cerise close against his chest, sleeping rather peacefully. Ever since they'd started sleeping in the same bed, he'd been sleeping through the night much easier. Small sounds and movements would still disturb him occasionally, but he didn't toss and turn like he used to. The sound that woke him now wasn't small, though.

His phone was ringing. Vanderwood's eyes flew open, and he reached for his phone quickly. He was used to this when he was in the agency, but the fact that someone was calling him this early in the morning now? It would have to be important. The sun wasn't even up. Information was something he could gather quickly, but his brain nearly shut down for a second when he read the caller ID. Crystal. What the Hell? Even when he was seeing her weekly, she had never called him first.

Vanderwood picked up, irritation heavy in his voice. "Why are you calling me?" There were sounds of crashing in the background. He further disentangled himself from his sleeping fiancée to sit on the edge of the bed as Crystal explained to him that she was pregnant and leaving the pimp agency, but her pimp was freaking out and not letting her leave.

His mind immediately searched for the last time he'd had sex with her, assuring himself before he spoke that it wasn't possible for any baby of hers to be his. "Well it's not my baby, so what are you calling me for?" Vanderwood had to admit he wasn't a fan of the crashing and knowing that her pimp was essentially keeping her hostage, but that didn't make any more sense as to why she wanted his help. Crystal started to say that he was the only one she could think of who would actually be able to do anything, and it wasn't like he could call the cops.

He thought about it for a moment before he got up and started to get dressed. "Text me the address." Then he hung up and focused on strapping his taser onto his leg. She needed help, and as much as he didn't view her as anything more than his ex-escort, he couldn't just pretend she hadn't begged him for help. Vanderwood hadn’t really been paying attention to whether Cerise had woken up, but now he crawled into the bed to quickly kiss her, finding her still asleep, although a little fitfully. “I need to go, mon amour, but I’ll be right back.”

Cerise was an incredibly heavy sleeper. She could probably sleep through an earthquake if given the chance. Only when he kissed her and left did she stir. Groaning, she grabbed for her phone to check the time. Was she seeing right? It was still super early, and the spot beside her was vacant. Sitting up, she looked around the room to see that he wasn't around. The bathroom door was open too, so he wasn't in there.

She thought maybe she’d dreamed him saying that he'd be right back, except maybe it wasn't a dream? In any case, she couldn't sleep when he randomly decided to leave, so she'd stay awake until he got back. Cerise grabbed her phone and padded her way to the kitchen. If she was awake, she might as well get a snack. She didn't have much in her house that was quickly prepared anymore; Marion absolutely refused to eat it. Oh! But she did have yogurt.

Grabbing a spoon and the yogurt in the fridge, she went to the living room to sit down and flip through channels on the TV. That'd have to pass the time before Marion came back and they could go back to sleep. It didn't feel _right_ to sleep and not have him right there beside her, so she wouldn't have been able to go back to sleep anyways. Wherever he went, she wasn't worried much about him. She had seen what he could do and laughed at the thought of anyone daring to mess with him. Good luck to whatever poor sap tried.

***

Vanderwood was not looking forward to this. He thought he'd been done with this shit, but apparently it was always going to follow him, just like he'd worried a few weeks before. As he pulled up to Crystal's pimp’s building, he decided to send a text to Cerise, hoping she was still asleep. `Hey shortcake, I'll be on my way back soon.` If she was awake, at least she would know he was alive. It was too damn early in the morning for this, and now he would be awake all day.

He pushed his way inside the pimp's building and was immediately greeted with the asshole's presence. The guy was throwing furniture, vases, DVD's but he stopped as soon as he saw the bigger man. "Crystal, where are you?" Pimpy McAsshole could be dealt with once he knew for sure that she was in a safe place. Her voice came from the door that had recently had a vase smashed into it. "In here. I'm okay. Just focus on him." As always, she seemed to know what needed to be done.

Not a second after she had called out to Vanderwood, the pimp was running off into another room, and Vanderwood chased him, listening to his curses. "Fucking, that's my best fucking ho. She's staying, I don't fucking care.” Wow, she'd really gotten herself a great pimp, hadn't she? He shouldn't have been thinking of that instead of observing the guy, because now they were in the kitchen. The asshole had a knife, which he surged forward at Vanderwood with, looking like a madman.

Vanderwood moved, just a little too slowly to avoid the cut that went across his left hip, over the scar he already had there. Thankfully, he felt absolutely nothing there; the nerves were completely dead, but that also meant he wouldn't know how serious the cut was until he was somewhere he could handle it. He grabbed the asshole by the collar and shoved him into a counter. "Sorry, bub. Crystal quits." Vanderwood punched the pimp hard, and the guy went down, unconscious. Yeah...that would probably be a concussion. Too bad he wasn’t going to bother getting the idiot to a hospital.

Once Vanderwood was back in the front room, Crystal was already getting out of the room she'd locked herself in. His eyes immediately scanned her for injury, but the only thing he noted was the small bump that indicated her pregnancy. "Ready to get out of here? I need to take you somewhere safe that you don't have on record, so I guess we're going to my fiancées’ house." Vanderwood didn't like that at all, bringing shit home to Cerise, and she was not going to be happy about the cut. He didn't even know how deep it was yet.

Crystal was quiet, seemingly observing him before a smile started to grow across her face, and she nodded. "Let's go." His mind was racing all over the place, trying to take in what was the next step. He needed to let Cerise know that she should get the first aid kit out. It only became more important as he was driving back, feeling blood trickling down onto his leg, but he was tired and not willing to risk texting and driving at the moment. Crystal seemed to notice the light irritation that was starting to come over him. "Need me to do something?"

She hadn’t wanted to call Vanderwood for help. In fact, she’d have preferred if it had been as easy as simply quitting. Since getting back from her parents’ place, she’d known she needed to quit for the sake of the baby before her pimp tried to make her work again. Normally, she was excellent at self-defense, but she hadn’t really thought properly about the fact that she couldn’t exactly be that physical with the little one in her stomach. The least she could do was be as helpful to Vanderwood as possible after asking such a huge favor of him and getting him injured in the process.

Vanderwood's eyes flicked to her for a moment. Why was she so observant? "Text the contact ‘Cerise’ in my phone. Let her know I'm fine, I need her to get out the first aid kit, and that I'm bringing you." Ugh. He was bringing a woman he used to pay for sex home. Not just that, but the woman he'd had the most sex with in his life. Cerise was going to be so pissed, and he couldn't blame her. His muscles were starting to ache as he tensed up. _Fuck today._ That was all he could really think at the moment.

Crystal's soft voice grated on his ears. "I knew there was someone out there to tame big bad Vanderwood." He snorted at her. "You know I like you better silent." She just laughed at him and shook her head, the big smile on her face not going away as she was tapping away at his phone. "I knew when you stopped calling. Vanderwood. I'm happy for you. You've even quit smoking. I'm rather impressed with this woman." His eyebrow twitched a little, and Crystal fell silent. Despite enjoying poking at him, she was smart. She took the hint and went into a comfortable silence.

***

Cerise's phone had pinged earlier, and she’d unlocked it to see a text from Marion saying that he would be back soon. At least him being able to text her meant that he was okay, though she was a little worried about what exactly could have him going out so early in the morning. Could it have to maybe do with Seven and his brother? She really wasn't sure what the situation was. 

Over time, she began to nod off a little while sitting on the couch, only jolting back awake when her phone pinged again. Another text from Marion. Oh good, he was still keeping in contact, so he was still okay. She read through the text, and panic set in. How in the world could he be fine _and_ need the first aid kit!? That was ridiculous. Plus, he was bringing someone with him...who was using his phone to text her. What even was happening?

He wasn't even home yet, and her head already hurt. Most of the time they spent together, it seemed he was hurt or injured in some way. He was apparently good at that. Cerise sighed, and she begrudgingly went to retrieve the first aid kit, setting it out and open on the living room coffee table. If there was going to be a person, it was so early that they probably needed a nap of sorts.

It was a good thing she had a guest room. The bed was in there, but she hadn't really dressed it yet. Cerise retrieved some sheets, pillows, and a matching comforter from a storage area and set it up. Of course, it wasn't as impressive as her own bed, but it would work. Setting it up took her mind off the fact that her fiancé was injured. Again.

Ugh...what stupid crap did he get himself into this time? She figured she'd find out soon enough. There was no reason to sit there and let worry eat at her. He would be back any time now, so she laid the contents of the kit out onto the table for easier access and went to go boil some water for tea before wandering back over to the couch and waiting. Stupid Vanderjerk getting hurt again and worrying her.

***

"If you could keep your mouth shut while I explain to my future wife why I've brought someone home that I used to sleep with, that would be great." He said it as though it was a suggestion, but he was definitely not going to be happy if Crystal started something with Cerise. In fact, he was likely to throw her out of the house, even pregnant. She, of course, was perfectly calm, whereas he was inwardly panicking.

Vanderwood didn't have time to fuss over it anymore, as he needed to take care of the cut. He limped into Cerise's house with Crystal following closely behind. There was a kettle on the stove, and Cerise was sitting on the couch. His eyes found the kit and items neatly placed out for him, so he could deal with his injury. She'd done more for him than he'd asked and that was...oddly sweet, even though she was probably none too pleased.

"Hello, mon amour." Vanderwood was pulling off his shirt and tugging his pants down just enough to properly see the hip wound. It wasn't bad, actually, so he breathed a sigh of relief and started to get to work on cleaning the wound. He had turned away to keep Cerise from seeing him stitching it before he realized that yes, there was a woman, very obviously his former type, pregnant, and standing in Cerise's living room unintroduced. "Um...this is Crystal, and before you ask, _that's_ not mine." He indicated her baby bump to an eye roll from Crystal, who, despite his request not to, started speaking. "I wouldn't want it to be."

Okay, so he wasn't a catch by any means, and would fuck up a kid, but really? "It's nice to meet the woman to tame the infamous Vanderwood." Her grey eyes observed the smaller woman, a raised eyebrow indicating her surprise as she sized her up. "Hm.." Vanderwood preemptively tensed. What the Hell was she going to say? If she even dared to insult Cerise- "You're beautiful, no wonder." Okay, he was a bit flabbergasted. He looked over to Cerise and then went right back to stitching the cut, deciding it was better to just stay quiet, at least until the initial shock of the current situation was over.

Cerise was silent as her eyes shifted between Vanderwood and the woman, Crystal. This woman was beyond beautiful. In fact, she looked like someone from a magazine. It was obvious to Cerise once Vanderwood had said that her pregnancy wasn't his doing who she was...or used to be. She felt a wave of insecurity washing over her as she looked at this woman.

She'd only really encountered two people from his past now, and she was starting to see a little bit of a pattern. They were pretty much everything she wasn't. Cerise felt her shoulders slump a little, but she jolted back to reality when Crystal spoke to her directly. This gorgeous woman thought she was beautiful? She felt a little heat rise to her cheeks and uttered a small, "You too." Was that awkward? Yeah, probably a bit, she decided. Cerise cleared her throat and stood up. "I'm Cerise, Marion's fiancée."  Smiling, Cerise held her hand out for Crystal to shake. Wow, she felt so inadequate standing next to this woman. Holy crap. The kettle whistled and Cerise politely excused herself to the kitchen for a moment.

Vanderwood had silently watched as Crystal shook Cerise's hand. Crystal sent him an amused look as his fiancée went to the kitchen to deal with the tea. Honestly, she was a little tired, and probably needed a snack soon, but the tea was very welcomed. Although, she could feel off of Cerise that she was angry, it didn't seem to be directed at her, so it wasn't about the role she used to play in Vanderwood's life, at least. More likely, it was the wound he'd come home with.

There were some questions Cerise had, but they could wait. Of course, she wasn't happy about him just randomly up and leaving at stupid o' clock in the morning and coming back with someone he used to pay for sex. He probably _and better_ have a good reason for it, and she wanted to trust him on that front, but...he had come back injured. Again. That was what had her scared, upset, irritated, mad...all of those emotions. She didn't like it one bit. Disappearing and showing back up with some new injury, bleeding all over the place, and then sewing himself back up like some rag doll wasn't on her list of things she liked. Cerise loved Marion more than she knew she could love anyone, so it was only natural that she would flip out a little with worry and anger when he got himself hurt like that.

She turned off the stove and looked through the blends of tea she had, deciding on spicy ginger for her lovely fiancé and some chamomile with some honey for their guest. Cerise got down the powdered ginger from her spice rack and poured a generous amount in his tea, stirring it so it would dissolve properly, deciding to add a hint of cayenne pepper to it. To clear the sinuses, you know. She finished it off by putting a good bit of fresh ginger root in for good measure.

Cerise scrunched up her nose when the pungent smell of the ginger hit her. God, was it strong. Only the best for her love. She returned to the living room with the two cups in either hand, giving Crystal hers before giving Marion his. Cerise locked eyes with him for a few seconds in a challenging glare before letting it fade into the sweetest, cutest smile she could manage. "Here you go mon amour~" She practically sang it out as she handed him his cup. "I made this special for you." Now she sat down and watched him. "It's good, isn't it~?"

The cup Cerise had given him, it was pungent, incredibly pungent, and the way she was talking to him. He made a weak little sound that men shouldn't make. Crystal started chuckling into her hand, taking a seat on the couch to enjoy her own tea, which smelled much more pleasant as Vanderwood swallowed hard before finally drinking some of his.

Oh, Bloody Hell, it hurt. It was spicy even?? The taste was burning his eyes as they watered somewhat. He deserved this, but Cerise's wrath was terrifying. Vanderwood just went with it and drank the rest, coughing a little in reaction. Bloody fucking Hell. "It's...great...thank you, Cerise..." Crystal was enjoying the sight of this huge and powerful man completely under the thumb of this tiny woman. It was comical, better than TV.

She nursed her cup for a while as she watched the two _pleasantly_ staring at each other before she spoke again. "So, are you going to explain to her why someone you used to sleep with weekly is in her home, so I can talk?" It wasn't like her to be sadistic, but this was all too good. Who was she kidding; it _was_ like her to be sadistic, and she was getting bored with the silence. Vanderwood nearly choked on air before giving her another glare. "I'd really rather you didn't." His tone was dark as he clenched his jaw before taking a deep breath.

There was a bit of a triumphant feeling when he’d drunk the tea. It served him right for worrying her like that. That feeling slipped away almost instantly, though, at Crystal's question to Marion. Cerise wasn't sure how she felt about it. Her honey-gold eyes flickered back over to Crystal. So, not only was this a former escort of his, she was seemingly his favorite one. Well, that did nothing to help her steadily rising insecurities. Cerise was pretty sure she felt a headache coming on. This was way too much way too early in the morning.

Vanderwood bit at his tongue, not comfortable at all. She did need to know, though. "Crystal's pimp was freaking out and keeping her hostage, because he didn't want her to quit over the pregnancy. My place is listed in their client forms, I'm sure. Her house they certainly know where is. She didn't know anyone else to call, I guess. Her pimp managed to swipe a blade across my old scar." It was interesting to, for once, not be in extreme pain over a wound, simply because there weren't that many nerves there, but that wasn't what he should be worrying about. He'd brought his old life, the danger of it, as well as his addiction on Cerise again. It made him feel like shit, nauseous and angry at himself. She deserved way better than the mess he was.

She was quiet as she listened to Marion's explanation of the situation. At least he had gotten the woman out before any damage could be done to her or her baby. Cerise definitely couldn't be mad at him for going to the aid of a pregnant woman, but she kind of felt that Marion was smarter than to let himself get stabbed by a pimp. "So, she needs a place to lay low. Gotcha." Former escort or not, she couldn't turn away someone who was pregnant, besides it was no fault of Crystal’s as to what his former relationship with her was. Crystal just did what she was paid to do. Cerise shook her head, trying not to think about it.

Of course, Cerise tried to be understanding of his past, and she knew that he was a very sick man before he’d met her. He was recovering slowly but surely, and that's all that mattered. Cerise had to tell herself that she didn't need to worry that his former favorite escort was sitting in her living room, that he wouldn't be tempted when his preferred type of woman was _right there_.

There was silence again, and Vanderwood seemed to be wilting slowly, his expression getting darker as he continued bandaging and rebandaging his wound almost like it had to be just right. Crystal noted the change in his attitude and decided to leave well enough alone for now. He didn't need to be further upset when he was as irritated as he was right now. "Perhaps you should go change, so you stop leaking blood on the floor." Vanderwood bit his tongue, giving Cerise another look, much like an ashamed puppy, but he nodded and went off to get some different clothes on, leaving the two women alone in the room, although that made him anxious, too.

Her eyes met Marion's momentarily before he was taking Crystal's suggestion and changing clothes. It would take him a little bit to clean himself up, probably. Her eyes wandered to Crystal's stomach. So, there was a baby in there, huh? The woman was probably tired and hungry, especially with being pregnant. "You've probably had some kinda night. I have a guest room you're welcome to use...I'll go and heat something up for you to eat." Keeping herself busy during this situation seemed like it was helping her to calm down.

Crystal nodded at Cerise’s suggestion, her stomach making a soft rumble. The moment alone gave her some time to think over what she had observed. Cerise was seemingly insecure, had Vanderwood even noticed? It only made sense when you met your significant other’s former whore to be uncomfortable, but she was handling it incredibly well. An understanding woman, it seemed. Crystal smiled to herself; it made complete sense to her how this woman had snagged Vanderwood. Though, Crystal hadn’t ever been interested other than getting her pay. She'd always felt he was damaged, had hurt for him, that's really why she was so happy to see them together. He seemed so much healthier.

Cerise could still smell the leftover ginger as she entered the kitchen. Worth it. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out something they had left over that Marion had cooked the previous night. She threw the contents in a pan and turned on the stove. It didn't take long at all before it was nicely heated up, so she turned off the stove and transferred it onto a plate with some utensils to eat with. After grabbing the plate, she made her way back into the living room and handed it to Crystal. "They're leftovers from dinner, hope that's okay."

The offer of food broke Crystal's thought process. "Thank you. I really am quite hungry, or at least the baby is." She was flippant about it, even though she was dealing with her own insecurities over her current situation. The food smelled great even for leftovers. "This is great. Thank you for letting me stay here. I'm sure it can't be easy, knowing my former situation with your fiancé."

She had assumed that all escorts acted like the one in the hotel, Marie, did, but it seemed to Cerise that Crystal was much different. This person seemed highly intelligent and put together. As Crystal brought up the past she had with Vanderwood again, Cerise averted her eyes away from her. Not thinking about it was the best way that she knew how to get through the situation. It was easier for Cerise to wrap her head around when she wasn't having to deal with it face to face. "Yeah... I'm not erm...upset with you or anything."

Cerise let her eyes wander back over to the woman as Crystal talked a little more. Vanderwood was probably still trying to wash blood off himself and take care of getting his clothes soaked if he wanted to save them. In the meantime, Crystal felt she may as well try to help Cerise feel a little better. "I always knew him as a sick and hurting man, and he never wanted anything more to do with me." She started to eat slowly. It was actually very good. Good enough to talk with her mouth full. "But he seems happy. Even if a little terrified. I'm guessing one, of upsetting you and two, for involving you in his problems."

Obviously, Cerise didn't know how he’d acted before she had met him. She got small glances of it, but nothing like Crystal had. It must have been quite bad if even she picked up on it. Then again, the woman seemed really perceptive. At least to her, who had experienced those sides of him, he seemed happier now. It made Cerise feel a little warm inside. She made him happy, just like he made her happy. Well...happy when he wasn't getting randomly stabbed or beaten up.

"If I didn't want to be involved in any of this, I wouldn't have agreed to be his wife someday. I wanna be there for him, so as far as I'm concerned, his problems are mine, too." She was starting to feel a little better. Of course, Cerise was still irritated at him, but she was getting there. "He's an idiot who worries too much. I want to be involved if it means I can help support him...within reason."

She definitely loved him, just as Crystal had thought. "Idiot sounds about right for him. I always told him he'd find someone, and here you are." Either she was starving, or these leftovers were the best thing ever. Crystal had managed to eat at least half of the food already while Cerise was talking. She put the fork down for a moment and locked her grey eyes with the honey-gold of Cerise's. "You support him far more than you know just by being around."

Crystal figured that Cerise needed the confidence, and it was the truth. Vanderwood had been completely untouchable before, and now he was engaged. Cerise would figure it out eventually, but it couldn't hurt to give her an extra nudge. No other woman mattered to Vanderwood the way she did; it was only painfully obvious, and Crystal had only been aware of their relationship for an hour at most.

The eye contact was a little unnerving, but Crystal was right. Just her presence seemed to help Marion out, and she definitely didn't mind being around him. It wasn't something she felt like she had to constantly remind herself to do; she just naturally wanted him around, wanted to be around him. Sometimes he could be somewhat of a stiff and a grumpy face, but he was slowly but surely letting loose in his own way.

The sound of limping footfalls had Crystal going back to her food as Vanderwood reappeared. His eyes fell on the women, searching for any indication of what they'd talked about. He felt sick, nervous, exhausted, and he was frazzled beyond belief. That only got worse when his eyes fell on the food Crystal was eating, and then he looked at Cerise. "You used the stove? Twice?!" That was twice she'd been doing something in the kitchen without his supervision. Crystal was looking at him like he was insane, but she just didn't understand. Cerise had launched a carrot at him. Still, the house wasn't on fire, and everything seemed fine other than the fact that the love of his life was pissed at him. Vanderwood took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead, sinking into a nearby chair. "Good job..."

Cerise's eyes had followed him as he re-entered the room, and she couldn't help but to grin once he pointed out that she had used the stove. She guessed she had; she hadn't really been thinking about it. Crystal looked absolutely confused, and Cerise realized how bizarre it sounded to a stranger. Naturally, she decided to leave it at that, giving him a small nod at his ‘compliment’ as he sat in a chair.

Vanderwood felt like he needed to sleep, and he needed to relax. His muscles were so tight that they were causing more pain than his injury, and he wanted to cry in frustration. It was stupid. He felt stupid. His life was so messy, and it felt like he needed Cerise to fix it, but she wasn’t a magic pill or something. That wasn’t how their relationship worked. It didn’t help that she was part of the problem, since he was blaming himself for fucking up her life just in another new way. Crystal looked at Vanderwood and stood, deciding the two needed to be alone. "I'll just be off to bed. Where is the guest room?" Vanderwood noncommittally pointed off in that direction, and she left with a quiet, "Good night."

He looked absolutely miserable, and despite her being upset with him, Cerise felt a pang in her heart. She said her goodnight to Crystal before she let her eyes fall back on Marion sitting there once more. This was quite the mess, and it made Cerise's head hurt. Plus, it was still very early in the morning. "Marion," she started and got up, walking over to him, "Let's just...deal with this in the morning...later morning. Come on, let's go back to bed." Vanderwood raised his eyes to meet her gaze. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to talk about it now, but what was there even to say? Right now, what he needed was her in his arms.

Cerise sighed, she had too much of a headache to try and have any sort of talk. She had half the mind to tell him to sleep on the couch, but she knew good and well that he probably wouldn't sleep, and she would have trouble going back to sleep without him there. Besides...he had only gotten hurt because he was protecting a woman and her baby. She couldn't stay mad at him for that. Cerise headed towards the bedroom and motioned for him to follow, burying herself in blankets and pillows once she reached the bed. Sleep sounded _so_ good.

Vanderwood was really just grateful that she wasn't pushing him away. Cerise was the most understanding woman on the planet, letting him sleep in the same room as her after everything that had just happened. He was slow as he followed her, sitting on the bed and pulling off his shirt. He looked over her all snuggled up in her mass of pillows and blankets and inhaled sharply as the thought crossed his mind to just pull her against him now and take what he needed.

 _No_. Vanderwood bit his tongue hard. That wasn't happening. Not his Cerise. Naturally, thought suggested to him that there was another woman in the other room, and now he wanted to vomit. He didn't want anything to do with Crystal anymore, but the current situation was making it hard to control himself. Vanderwood closed his eyes and hung his head. _Breathe...calm..._

Once more, he opened his eyes, looking towards Cerise. She wasn't some sex toy; she was his soulmate, and all he needed was to hold her right now. He felt like he had calmed down enough that he could touch her, rolling over onto the bed and pulling her close against his chest, burying his face in her hair and breathing deep. His muscles were already starting to relax, the tenseness slipping away as he breathed in her scent, keeping his mind focused firmly on how much he loved her and nothing else.

She noticed that he was taking his sweet time actually getting into bed. Was he that hurt? Eventually she let herself peek up from the pillows, he had been just sitting there. Briefly she wondered if he had fallen asleep like that before she found him looking at her, and shortly after that, he decided to finally lay down and pull her close to him. It was much welcomed, and despite the situation, she felt so much more relaxed and put together being against his chest. Cerise automatically snuggled into him more as he was mumbling something into her hair.

"I'm sorry...I’m so sorry." What would happen if this mess only got worse and he relapsed? Would he cheat on Cerise? No. Vanderwood tightened his hold on her waist. Never. He would keep himself from turning her into something she wasn't. Vanderwood felt he could do this; he had to. This wasn’t who he was. He wasn’t this monster, not anymore. "Je'taime..."

He was...sorry? His voice sounded so small at that moment, and she felt her heart clench. "C'est pas grave...It's okay." She responded, nuzzling into him all the more. Any irritation she held had melted away. He was holding her so tightly now, and she felt warm, both inside and out. Cerise could tell that something was wrong, but it was probably related to the situation at hand, and she knew that, whatever it was, he could talk to her about it in the morning if they needed to.

Sometimes she found it best just not to speak, making sure that she was there for him, comforting him with her affection or a kind hand telling him that things would be okay. "Je t'aime aussi." Cerise shifted her head just a little to be able to give him a quick kiss to his neck before snuggling into him again. "Let's get some rest...Just relax. You're okay; we're okay." She kept her voice soft before she then gave him a light squeeze, closing her eyes and welcoming sleep after that craziness.

Her voice was so soothing; the way she was speaking to him was soothing. Even if he’d been thinking about having sex with her earlier, he was keeping himself to just these small motions of affection. Vanderwood was far more relaxed having her in his arms, where she belonged, and listening to her breathing slow as she fell asleep. It wasn't long before he joined her, the hand that had started playing with her hair stilling in it as sleep claimed him.

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	21. Bonds Are Formed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cerise finds an unusual friend in Vanderwood's former favorite escort, but there may be some tension in this arrangement.

***There is a Crystal Backstory hidden scene. Find out more about it on my website, linked at the end of the chapter. She is by and far one of my favorite OC's of all time. I'm sure I'll get her OC bio up soon, too. She's...affiliated with another MM boy, and in the end, I'll end up publishing an OC story with her, too. SO stay tuned!!***

Vanderwood woke slowly and checked the time. Damn, he'd kind of slept in? It was already 10, and he needed breakfast. He untangled himself from Cerise, looking at her for a moment, thinking about the night before. Maybe a little dangerous to do, but his thoughts were interrupted anyway as he heard shuffling in the kitchen. So, Crystal was probably up and searching for food. What the Hell was going on with his life right now?

He made his way in there, grumbling a good morning. "You should sit down. I can make breakfast." She had an amused look on her face but just leaned against the counter, hands cupping over her small baby bump before he looked away. He did not want to think about kids right now. "So, you're a gentleman _and_ an idiot." Vanderwood snorted at her. "Sure, I am. What are you insulting me over now?" He figured she would probably need something a little heavier, so omelets were the way to go, even though Cerise wouldn't be cutting the broccoli for him today. He couldn't help thinking that she shouldn't be anyway. Bringing his old life back into his new life with her, he didn't deserve her.

Crystal's voice had his eyebrow twitching. "She said yes, you know. To all of it." He didn't like people nosing into his life, but Crystal continued as he tried to focus on preparing food to stay relaxed. "Doesn't mean I should bring it home." The woman sighed heavily. "Doesn't mean she doesn't love you, more than anything in this world." Vanderwood bit his tongue.

Alright, so maybe she was right. Cerise had fought him on a similar situation before, and he remembered her saying that she was ready to accept everything that came with being with him. Still, he couldn't help thinking that maybe she didn't fully understand what that meant. He shook his head, too tired and annoyed to want to think much more of it. "Why am I taking the advice of an escort who probably got pregnant by one of her johns? Whose is it?" That was none too polite, but if she was nosing, he was going to nose in, too.

She narrowed her eyes at him before she smacked the back of his head, not hard, but enough to get the point across. "Absolutely none of your business, you ass, but my baby is no john's." Crystal huffed as he turned to stare at her over his shoulder. Had she just? She had. Granted he deserved it, in hindsight. She just ran her hands over her belly. Calling Zen’s baby that of some john’s…it was insulting to him in a weird way, insulting to the baby. She didn’t so much care for being insulted herself, but not Zen and not her baby.

Cerise had woken up by now and walked into the kitchen, following the voices she was hearing coming from it. She arrived just in time to hear Marion asking Crystal a _really_ inappropriate question. Cerise had opened her mouth to say something to him, but Crystal's swift smack to the back of his head beat her to it. Stifling a laugh, she made her way beside him to start some coffee. "You deserved that, you know." With a yawn, she set a pot of coffee to brew. " ...Morning, by the way."

Well, she wasn't sure if Crystal liked coffee or not, but _if_ she did, there would be more than enough for the two of them. Marion would probably end up drinking his usual breakfast tea. When she passed Crystal to go sit at the table to wait while the coffee was brewing, she grinned at her and uttered a, “Good job.” Her fiancée definitely deserved the smack. "Marion, don't be such a jerk, by the way." She called to him from her place at the table.

"Yeah, I know." He sighed and focused on breakfast. Vanderwood was not about to have an easy life for a while, it seemed. Crystal gave Cerise a wink before going to join her at the table, mostly to get away from the enticing smell of coffee, although it followed her. Maybe she would just have a little, although a doctor would probably say it was best not to have any. That was, if the baby was even okay after a certain stunt she’d pulled recently and all the stress she’d managed to put herself under. It was far easier to focus on the problems of others rather than her own, so she redirected her attention to watching.  

Once the food was done, Vanderwood set down a plate for each of the women and himself, placing his plate next to Cerise’s before going to get her coffee. Maybe he could get some bonus points by making it just the way she liked. "Did you want some, Crystal?" The lavender haired woman looked up from the food she'd apparently been too hungry to resist starting on to mumble past her hand, thanks to her full mouth. "Just a little. Not good for the baby to have too much." He nodded and got her a smaller amount, setting it down before getting tea for himself.

Oh, Cerise didn't even think about coffee not being good to have while pregnant. Cerise guessed that caffeine wasn't so great for the developing baby, then. She was also guessing that Marion was trying to earn points by making her coffee. Cerise took a sip once he put it in front of her. Okay...so it was good. Really good. She took a few more sips. He was safe. For now. As he was making his tea, she may as well get to know Crystal a little better, but once she put her coffee cup down to do so, Cerise scrunched up her face.

Crystal was really going at that food. It was all over her mouth, and she looked a bit wild, really. For such a gorgeous and seemingly elegant woman, she sure ate like she hadn’t been fed in years. Was that a pregnant thing? Her hair was already put together into a neat ponytail, and she was even dressed in a tight blouse and a pair of pants that looked really good on her, even if they were pants, and her jewelry was stunning on her. Someone this put together couldn’t possibly eat like that on a regular basis…Unless she was the weird one. Cerise eyed her food. Should she shovel it in?

It took the kettle a little while, and the women were quiet as they ate, so he had plenty of time to think. Cerise was right, he really was being a douche. He didn’t exactly have a relationship of any kind with his former escort, but…the least he could do was be decent and apologize. Vanderwood filled his mug, making his way back over to them and sinking into his chair next to Cerise, who was looking at her omelet a little oddly. "Hey...I'm uh....sorry for that question by the way."

The lavender-haired woman just shrugged, accepting his apology. God, he was an ass for having asked her, but more than anything Vanderwood was just happy it wasn't his. He looked over at Cerise, still looking at her omelet, before leaning to give her cheek a quick kiss that made her almost jump. She gave him a little peck and started on her food, finally. If he was having children with anyone, it would be her, although he still wasn't sure he could handle it. Not now anyway. More than likely, he'd be an absentee father, too worried about screwing the kid up to do much. He picked a little at his food, earning himself a raised eyebrow from Crystal who was observing him _again_. It made him uncomfortable, but obviously he was going to need to get used to it.

Cerise had been totally zoned out before his kiss to her cheek had brought her out of her stupor, unable to keep from giving him a little peck in return. That just started her to thinking about how wonderful he was and all of the snuggling she wanted to give him when they got the chance to be alone. She just couldn't help it; she loved him, and she loved the affection he showed her. It made her feel warm and giddy, like she wanted to dance around. Cerise found that she couldn't really stay upset with him for a long period of time. She reached over to give his arm a squeeze, still smiling. "Thanks for breakfast~ It's good!" To make her point, she speared some of her breakfast onto her fork and put it in her mouth with an audible, “Omph!” sound, winking and giving him a thumbs-up of approval.

Vanderwood's smile grew wide at her behavior. She was adorable, and she was his. He wrapped an arm around the back of her chair as he ate. Crystal seemed to be enjoying what she was observing....as well as the food... "Crystal, slow down before you choke, Bloody Hell." The lavender-haired woman shook her hand at him before covering her full mouth. "I'm pregnant, I'll eat as much and as fast as I want."

Cerise had never really encountered a pregnant woman before, so she didn't know whether or not Crystal was just like this or it was something the pregnancy was making her do. Holy crap, this woman put away some food. It was kind of impressive...in a way. She glanced between Marion and Crystal during their exchange and noticed that he backed off. Smart move.

He had opened his mouth as though to argue before deciding better of it. Probably best not to argue with a potentially hormonal pregnant woman. Vanderwood wasn't risking it. "So, uh...you want to watch some TV after this, or?" He wasn't used to social interaction, let alone with Crystal. She just swallowed hard and looked between them with excitement. "Either of you heard of telenovelas?"

After Crystal's question, Cerise's eyes widened, and her face lit up. She had the most ridiculous smile on her face, and she felt like she could jump out of her seat. "Do...do you watch them, too?" Her tone was pitched with excitement. It would be great to watch them with someone who appreciated them as much as she did. Marion would watch with her, but he just wasn't into them as much as she was, and there were some times where he wouldn't tell her what they were saying, even though she knew he could understand.

Vanderwood just stared, his cup with tea still up to his lips. Oh, dear God. Crystal watched them, too. Not that he really disliked them, other than the stupid donkey ones, but now there were two super fans in the house. Did Crystal speak Spanish? He really hoped not, because there were plenty of times he just couldn't translate for Cerise, because he felt the things being said weren't appropriate.

Crystal was overly excited. "You know them!!! Ever since I learned Spanish, I started watching them _all the time_. They're just so exciting!" Vanderwood felt like he had a headache, and besides that...translating was his thing. Maybe he was being childish, but helping Cerise understand what had been going on in her favorite shows...when they'd first started dating, it had made him feel...proud, like he could offer her something that was important to her. He bit his tongue. Yeah, that probably was childish.

"Yes! But..." Cerise smiled a little sheepishly, "I can't really understand them. Luckily, though..." She gestured towards her husband-to-be. "I have this cutie to translate for me! It's been a lot more exciting now that I know what's going on." This was so exciting...to meet someone who loved these things as much as she did. Cerise wondered what her favorite one was; she'd have to ask. Her friends back in Paris just didn't understand. Telenovelas were like an art form. Other similar programs from other countries never came close...Though, she’d heard that there were some interesting ones from India. She'd have to try them out one day. "We should watch after breakfast! I think my favorite one is going to air soon! Ahhhh~ I think today we find out who the maid's mystery lover is!"

Vanderwood's face turned bright red at Cerise's comments and he coughed softly, wrapping his arm around the back of her chair again. Crystal was too excited to notice the deep blush on his face, at least for now. "I think I know which one you're talking about! I'll have to fill in whatever gaps this one leaves for you." He was still red, and she managed to catch it now, chuckling a little. "I'm sure I'm a better translator." His eyebrow twitched. "Try it." How had Crystal even learned Spanish? Vanderwood’s total immersion probably won out over however she had learned it.

Crystal just rolled her eyes at him and went back to chatting with Cerise about their favorite telenovelas. Cerise’s honey-gold eyes had been flicking between them as they seemed to get into some sort of competition over who would be the better translator. While it was exciting to have a new friend to watch with, nothing could replace the time she spent watching with him and letting him translate for her. Plus, he let her snuggle into him while they watched television. No way was Crystal going to take his job; Cerise was just thankful to have someone to fangirl with. She was going to speak up and tell them it didn’t really matter, knowing that Marion was clearly getting frustrated, but just as quickly, she and Crystal were discussing their favorite shows.

The lavender-haired beauty of a woman loved a lot of the same shows she did; plus, she went in being able to understand them from the get-go and was able to talk about them more in depth than Cerise could. They had been talking for a while until the conversation led to the awful rapping donkey. Was it just her or was there a chill in the room? He was totally tuning it out until he heard something about the rapping donkey. Immediately, he was paying full attention. "I hate that stupid donkey. It's the worst plot I've ever seen. Completely senseless."  Cerise was happy as well to find that Crystal also hated the dumb thing, responding to Marion. “I have to agree. It’s a bit of a disaster, and I usually love weird things like that.” Well, maybe it was a little concerning that she tended to like ‘dumb things like that,’ but Cerise wasn’t about to split hairs. "Yeah...I have no idea who thought that was a good idea..."

Cerise got up to clean up the plates and put the dishes in the sink before setting off towards the television in the living room. She turned it on and switched to the promised station, delighted to see that her favorite one was on the opening credits. Crystal was already up and positioning herself on one side of the couch while Vanderwood stretched and started to head towards their bedroom before Cerise caught his attention. "Hey, you wanna come watch too, Marion?" She called out to him. Maybe he wouldn't mind watching with two women.

He had been intending to just let them do their thing, but it was also tempting to out-translate Crystal. That and he did enjoy the way Cerise curled into him when they watched together. Although he wasn't sure how comfortable she would be doing that with someone else watching. Vanderwood thought about it for a moment before Crystal spoke up, holding her hand out to the side with a smirk. "Don't you want to find out who the better Spanish speaker is?"

His eyebrow twitched briefly. How did she know exactly what would bother him most? Was she a mind reader? No. He’d asked himself that millions of times before, but she was just irritatingly observant. "I mostly just want to spend time with my fiancée." He grumbled a little before taking his place on the couch, the middle, so he could leave room for Cerise to snuggle with her feet over the other armrest if she wanted to. That and he just wanted to keep the women a little more away from each other. It made him uneasy that they were forming some sort of camaraderie. Before he knew it, he would have _two_ women bossing him around and only one that he could tolerate it from. "Let's watch." His voice was a little gruff, but he softened up pretty easily once Cerise took her place. She just had that calming effect on him. Even the night before when he'd almost slipped, she was his saving grace.

Cerise threw her feet over the armrest and took her place snuggled into him as the opening credits on the show faded away. It had opened with a dramatic close-up of a lady's face, who she had realized, thanks to Marion, was the employer and not the maid’s sister or friend or anything else that Cerise had made up in her head. In the long run, it did make sense as to why the lady was so bossy.

The woman had pointed accusingly towards the maid, yelling something or other before picking up a shoe and throwing it towards the maid, which hit her in the shoulder. Offended, the maid threw it back, and it began to look like a weird game of hot potato....except with a shoe. More yelling once the shoe was dropped, and then this guy came bursting through the doors. Both ladies looked completely shocked, because another guy who looked _exactly the same_ followed. Cerise furrowed her eyebrows and instinctively looked up to her fiancé, waiting for him to explain, because...what was even going on there?

Vanderwood was maybe a little hyper focused. So, a challenge could maybe get him a little hyped up. Usually, he had nothing to prove, but he rather liked the job of being Cerise's translator. When Cerise looked up at him, Crystal looked over at him expectantly as well, although he knew she was more interested in seeing how good his Spanish was. "The boss lady says she saw the maid together with her husband again last night, so this is just the same fight again. They're insulting each other. The boss lady is saying the maid is stealing the love of her life, and now the twin brothers enter. It seems that the maid is not sleeping with the man of the house but with his far richer brother.”  They watched a little further before Vanderwood’s stoic face turned a little gruffer. “Now the boss lady is going for the brother, so she's pretty shallow."

Cerise listened and the scene made a lot more sense than anything she would have thought up in her head. It seemed that she was always _way_ off when it came to figuring out what was going on. So, to the lady...it seemed that she didn't care as long as the guy was rich. That was really rude of her, and Cerise did not like her one bit. "That's really crappy of her..." She mumbled as she watched what was going on now. More yelling and screaming. Cerise looked up to Marion again, whose face had begun to turn red. It must have been one of those times that he didn't feel the need to translate.

The boss lady had shoved her husband towards the maid before attaching herself to the richer brother. Now the maid started screaming at the richer man and the boss lady, and Vanderwood's face filled with color. "I'm not translating that." Crystal started to actually laugh at him, soft and dainty but definitely laughing at him. "I never pegged you for a prude, Vanderwood." She flicked her ponytail before beginning to translate, looking at the TV, and there was nothing he could do about it.

For him, it was like watching a car crash. Also, his fiancée was in his lap, so that didn't help, because as usual the problem was his imagination more than anything. "She's telling them that she is far better at satisfying a man and can deep-throat far better than any other woman out there. The boss lady seems to think that she's better, because she's the woman on top." Thankfully, Vanderwood knew Cerise wouldn't understand any of that, so he relaxed somewhat.

Cerise hadn’t expected Crystal to start translating and had pretty much accepted it that she wasn’t going to find out what was being said. Now, Cerise scrunched up her nose at Crystal's translation. Okay, so the boss lady thought that she should be with the guy, because she was powerful, and the maid...had something lodged in her throat? That didn't seem helpful at all. How in the world did she think that would be helpful to the guy? "Wouldn't...erm..." Cerise was trying to find the right words. "...how does that help anyone? Wouldn't she need to go to the hospital?" She stopped to think for a moment before a light went off in her head. "Oh! I get it now!" That's where the doctor guy comes in!" Now that made sense. How scandalous.

Crystal was looking at Cerise like she had two heads before she figured out that apparently, she didn't know those phrases. Vanderwood caught her too late before she was explaining. "Being the woman on top means you're on top of the man when you're having sex. Deep-throating means his dick deep into your throat, so you can take more in." His eyebrow was now twitching like crazy, and he was biting his tongue, focused on not letting his mind wander anywhere. "Could you not? I liked it much better when I paid you to be quiet. How much would that be now?" That was way inappropriate, but he was not in a good mood. Crystal looked over to lock eyes with Cerise’s before she smacked the back of Vanderwood's head, who just grumbled and accepted it, sinking back into the couch. "She has as much of a right to know as you do, and I have as much of a right to talk."

Okay, so that wasn't anything Cerise had been expecting. She’d just kind of stared at Crystal before Marion spoke, saying something _again_ that he really had no business saying. Cerise was starting to get a little irritated that he kept alluding to the fact that he used to pay Crystal for her ‘services.’ Was he dense or something? In what world did he believe that if he kept mentioning it, she wouldn't get at least a little upset? The smack to the back of his head delivered by Crystal was so well-deserved, but it didn’t really make her feel any better.

Cerise took out her phone and typed up a message. `Just bcuz I'm ok w/ evrythng doesn't mean u shud continue 2 bring it up.` She wasn’t quite ready to have this conversation in the same room with the two of them, so Cerise got up from the couch, announcing that she was going to chill in her room for a little while. Once she was inside and the door was locked, she hit send on the message. Cerise had no issue with Crystal being around; she actually liked her. What she didn't like was Marion's constant reminder of what he used to do with the person who was sitting _right there_. That was a little too uncomfortable for her. She just knew that it happened; she didn't need specifics, nor did she want to be constantly reminded...yet this was the second time he had alluded to it _just that day_. She loved him but jeeze. Cerise grabbed a kitty-shaped pillow and squeezed it to her chest. That jerk...

Vanderwood had known almost immediately as it had left his mouth that he’d said something way beyond propriety, but he hadn’t expected Cerise to walk off and lock herself into the bedroom. He sat there in silence with Crystal glaring at him before his phone pinged, and he checked the message. _Damn it..._ Vanderwood bit his tongue and looked up at the ceiling. It made sense, he just hadn't thought about it, not in the moment. Should he reply? He really didn't know how to.

"You know you're not making it any easier on her." Vanderwood grumbled in response before sending back, `Sorry.` Crystal just kept talking, and although he was irritated, he had to admit, she was pretty good with this stuff. Certainly, a lot better than him. Taking advice from a whore, imagine. "She's obviously insecure. Not that anything is wrong with her; she's lovely, and I'm certain you feel more for her than you ever have for anyone else, but she doesn't look like your type or act like your type and continuing to point out what you did with me, not helping that either."

Crystal looked towards Cerise's room with a sigh. Was Vanderwood even listening to her? From his body-language, it seemed like he was. His head had slightly tipped in her direction, even if he was staring at the TV with his arms folded. "Yeah, you slept around, you're a bit of a screwed-up guy, no pun intended. She knows and accepts that, but you don't have to push it in her face."

Vanderwood furrowed his brows momentarily before he returned to his stoic expression. It already made sense to him that he shouldn’t be making reminders of what Crystal used to do for him, but he hadn't thought about her insecurity before. Now that Crystal pointed it out, the last night had been a little odd. The way she responded to Crystal’s presence as she’d come into the room, it hadn’t been the way she normally responded to other women.

He felt really fucking stupid, and Crystal seemed very aware of the fact that he was actually listening to her. "So. Talk to her. Oh, and let her know I'll gladly watch more of these with her when you're done." Crystal gave him a little push which had him glaring at her again. She hadn’t ever touched him in their interactions before, other than when he’d requested it, which was basically never. Still, Crystal gave him a little wave to make him keep going. They didn’t have that kind of situation between them anymore, and whether he liked it or not, she cared about what happened between him and his sweet little bride-to-be. God, he hated being touched, but it wasn't like she wasn't pushing him in the right direction. Vanderwood lightly rapped his knuckles on the door to Cerise's room. Would she even want to hear him out right now? Usually, she was pretty good about it, but he was acting like a shit lately, so he couldn't blame her for not wanting to deal with it right now. "Hey, Cerise...can we talk?"

Cerise looked up from her pillow and towards the door. She had a feeling that he would have wanted to talk sooner or later, although she hadn’t expected it right away. Cerise didn't answer at first, choosing to remain quiet. It's not that she didn't have anything to say or that she didn't want to talk and get things settled. Cerise just knew that it would bother him if she didn't answer right away. It was petty more than anything, but she didn't even care.

Vanderwood had known why she wasn’t opening the door. That was a habit of hers sometimes, making him stew in it. Cerise knew he wasn't the most patient person in the world, but in this case, he wouldn't blame her if she made him wait all day. He leaned his hip against the doorframe as he waited until she opened the door a few minutes later.

She let this go on for two or three minutes before finally getting up and going to the door. If she knew him, he wouldn't leave so easily. Sighing, she opened the door to let him in. "You really are a jerk, you know that? She turned around to take her place on the bed, pulling another pillow into her arms and holding it close to her chest." His response came out as a sigh. "Yeah, I know..." Vanderwood closed the door after he entered, not wanting Crystal as a fly on the wall, even though she seemed to know when to butt out. Cerise eyed him for a moment. "So...let's talk

He watched Cerise for a little while, the way she was hugging her pillow a long-familiar pose now. Words didn't come easily to him. Vanderwood wished he could just hold her, but they really did need to talk, or at least he did. He chose to sit on the floor so as not to loom over her. It always felt more right to talk on level ground when they were discussing important things, although like this she was just a little above him. That was fine on his end; he'd just rather not be the one looming.

Her eyes silently followed him as he sat down on the floor, waiting for him to say his piece with a hard gaze. At least he realized what a jerk he was being. She could tell that he was having a little trouble finding words to say, which wasn’t unusual for him. Cerise waited patiently while he debated with himself. She could wait all day if she had to, but it wasn't long before he did start talking. "I'm sorry for being an ass. I don't really know how to act with her in normal situations, since my life has never been normal...not that that excuses it. I didn't mean to...dangle the situation in front of you. I'm just irritated and confused about a lot of things." He wrapped his arms around his knees, feeling like he looked and felt a lot like a small child, but so be it. "I'm sorry. I'm just bad at this...but I'm trying. I didn't mean to hurt you."

She listened and tried to take it in. At least he was apologizing and realized what exactly it was that made him an ass mcvanderjerkface. Being irritated did tend to make him act out, and usually, she found it kind of funny, but there was a line that he had crossed that was not okay today. Cerise waited for him to finish before asking a question of her own, making sure to look him in the eye as she spoke. "I get why you're irritated...but why are you confused? What's there to be confused about?" She was trying not to focus on how adorable he looked right now, because _she was mad, dammit._

Her question had him confused again. What was it really that he was so confused about? Everything was the only thing he could think, but that wasn't right. His whole life was just weird. "I went from one lifestyle to a completely other one. I love you, I love our relationship, and I love our life together, but it's confusing when the two lifestyles mix. It's making keeping myself calm the proper way difficult...I think that's what's confusing. My brain is telling me two things."

Vanderwood felt even more like shit admitting it, that he felt like he was slipping a little. "I'm sorry...It's not that I'm not happy or that you don't satisfy me...I'm just a mess of a person..." His addiction was a barrier, one he was doing everything he could to get rid of. "I won't ever use you like that...but the mix is…that’s what’s confusing." Did she understand? It felt like he was drowning. He didn't want to hurt her any more than he already had, but she needed to know. Above all, she needed to know he wasn't going to step out of line that way. She was all that mattered to him now, and he would do anything and everything to protect her and their relationship.

Cerise’s eyes widened for a moment. So, the issue was that his addiction was starting to try and complicate things? She thought she followed. Having someone around from that past was probably hard for him...especially if it was the person he would rely on the most. As much as she understood what he was telling her, why it was hard and confusing for him...she couldn't help but to feel a good deal of self-consciousness. It wasn't his fault; he was just a victim of circumstance. At first, she wasn't quite sure what she could say; she loved him and understood that it was a difficult situation.

"Marion..." Cerise sighed and put her pillow to the side, crawling down onto the floor with him. "I trust you...okay? I think you're stronger than you realize." She made her way to sit beside him, leaning against him a little. "It's going to take a while...but look how far you've come in such a short time. How about...during these times, if you feel like it's becoming too much, text me. We'll come in here and just talk." Cerise looked to him to study his face. It was such a childish solution, but in this particular case, she felt that maybe isolation from the situation could be the way to go, not wanting to overexpose him to his past and stress him out further...which would stress her out, causing arguments aplenty.

He’d tensed just a little when she moved towards him to lean on him, but he was really trying to listen to what she was saying, pay attention to her words rather than the tenseness of his body. Vanderwood leaned his head lightly against hers before turning his head to kiss the top of hers. "I just don't want to hurt you..." He pulled back to see her studying his face. Her suggestion, while helpful, also raised worries for him. "But I don't know if I should be alone with you when I feel that way...last night...holding you made it go away, but I wanted to...and I shouldn't think of you like that." Vanderwood bit his tongue and moved to wrap an arm around her, needing the closeness. "You deserve better. I'll work on better."

Cerise could see why he was concerned, but she also did really trust him to do the right thing. Ever since the first time he'd kissed her, he had been very good about controlling himself around her. "If...you feel like you need to get away and be by yourself, that's okay, too. Even if you don't feel like you can be alone with me..." She held up her phone, letting him get a good view of it to get her point across, "...I have this. You can call me or even text me; even if I'm in the other room. I want to help you. You don't have to do it alone."

If he thought that he needed to better himself, she wasn't going to stop him. She knew what she was getting into when she’d agreed to be in a relationship with him; she was prepared for bumps in the road. Cerise knew it would be hard for both of them, mentally and physically. Now she leaned into him, enjoying the warmth of his arm around her. "Don't try to rush things...Go at your own pace. I'll be here no matter what. I love you, Marion. Nothing's gonna change that." As much as Cerise enjoyed annoying him and poking at him, she did have a lot of respect for how hard he was trying, what he wanted to be for her. Again, she couldn't stay mad at him for long. Even if he was a jerkface.

He squeezed her a little tighter as she talked, his other hand coming around to take her chin once she was done, pressing a soft kiss to her lips that he let last. Cerise seemed to know him better than he knew himself sometimes. When he broke the kiss, he lightly nuzzled her nose. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me..." He let the moment stand on its own, leaning his forehead against hers for long enough to just soak it in. This was what he loved most about his new life, taking the time to just exist.

She enjoyed the moments after they had a disagreement where they would make up. For whatever reason, it just felt sweeter. He was so soft and gentle with her, and a part of her was happy that only she really got to see this part of him. Nobody would ever know him like she did; nobody could even come close. Cerise took pride in that fact, as weird as it was. She muttered something in French, not realizing she had changed languages as she nuzzled him back after their kiss. Vanderwood just smiled, loving the sound of her native language.

After a while, he remembered Crystal's offer, and felt like maybe he should tell her about it at least as some sort of…show of being able to handle the situation at hand. "Crystal said she wanted to watch more telenovelas with you. I'm okay if you want to make that a girl thing. I feel a little...awkward, as much as I love watching them with you." She would probably understand what he meant. At least he hoped so. It just felt like he wasn't going to be able to relax with Crystal translating the parts he couldn't...well wouldn't.

Cerise blinked and stared at him as he mentioned Crystal and her offer to her. Okay, so, she guessed that was fair. Guys, Marion or otherwise, didn't tend to like being around 'girl talk' or during a female hangout session. Plus, she just didn't want to stress him out further by having both herself and Crystal around when they both seemed to have big personalities. "It's okay, I understand ~ Don't worry. We'll have to watch another secret agent movie later to make up for it though, okay? I need some chill time with my future hubby." Cerise giggled and kissed his nose, getting up from her place on the floor and dusting off her clothes. Jokingly, she held out her hand as though to help him get up, finding it more amusing than probably a normal person would.

Vanderwood's heart positively melted at her suggestion of watching one of his movies alone together later and the way she said 'Future hubby' would always get to him. She was so good at that. When she offered him her hand to help him up, he laughed and kissed it gently, holding it as he stood on his own. He had a feeling he would break her if she really tried to yank him up, thankful that she wasn't the type to try something there was no way she could manage. Vanderwood couldn't help but to bend and give her another kiss, slow and long. These kisses were what he liked to remember when he wasn't with her, the moments he cherished more than anything else.

She’d giggled as he humored her and took her hand when he got up. It actually made her feel rather giddy, especially so after he bent down to kiss her. She loved when they could take their time with it, really feel that moment and take it in. Sometimes, she would randomly recall those moments in her head and end up a little blushy for seemingly no reason. It just had that effect on her. He broke the kiss before he opened the door for her, walking out into the living room to see Crystal patiently waiting, looking their way with a smile. "Thought it was about time you were done. So, are we watching more?" God damn it, was she actually a psychic? Cerise shot Crystal a smile and replied with a, "Yep! I think Marion will be heading out to do _man_ things, though."

With a soft snort, Vanderwood went to get his jacket and gloves on, which were hung by the door. "I'll be...out getting more groceries for a little while, since we have another mouth and a half to feed. I'll be back soon." Cerise had followed him, and he gave her hand a kiss before she grabbed onto him for a hug that just melted his heart all the more. It took him a moment before he actually broke away from her, making it a point not to look at Crystal, who was smiling into her hand. Almost as soon as he got into the car, he was sending Cerise a message. `Text me. Otherwise I'll miss you.`

Crystal watched him go before looking over at Cerise. "So, I guess the big guy is capable of apologizing after all?" It wasn't really her business, but she felt on some level she was actually making a normal friend. Far better than Marie, anyway. Cerise had been smiling before from their interaction, but her smile widened when her phone went off, knowing it was him before she could even check it. She took a quick selfie to send as a response before she was looking over towards Crystal who had started talking. "Huh? Oh, yeah."

She made her way back to the couch and plopped down beside the elegant looking woman. "Actually, he's really good about it." Crystal had noted the way that Cerise replied to her phone nearly immediately with a selfie, guessing the recipient easily and smiling. They were really a cute couple. That would probably drive Vanderwood insane to know, but that's what they were. "That's good. I always thought he was a good man. Not the brightest when it came to talking to people, but a good person, whether he wants to admit it or not."

Cerise nodded to what Crystal was saying as she looked around and then grabbed for a nearby pillow to hold before turning towards Crystal again. "Are you comfortable enough? Do you need anything before we start watching again?" She wasn't really sure how to act towards someone who was pregnant, especially when they were a guest in her home. Crystal shifted a little in her place on the couch before she cupped her hand over her stomach and shook her head. "No, I'm just fine. Although you might have to fill me in on what I missed when I go to the bathroom every five minutes."

She joked about it, but being pregnant really was rather a rough gig, particularly doing it alone. There was a way to not do it alone, she knew that, but it just…wasn’t a viable option. Crystal sighed and flicked her ponytail back over her shoulder before she managed to throw up the facade of perfection again. It seemed more difficult to pretend that everything was great and she was perfectly calm when around someone else for extended periods of time. She was a social person, but even she wasn't used to being around people for much longer than a couple of hours.

Honey-gold eyes widened a little. "Every five minutes?" that seemed rough, and she knew it was an exaggeration, but still. Being pregnant seemed like a hassle, always having a bump in the way and going to the bathroom so often. Plus, she had seen something on TV about this woman demanding pickles smothered in peanut butter, and that alone just sounded like a bad time. Cerise mentally shuddered and went to turn the TV up so they could continue watching, making sure to keep in touch with her fiancé every so often via text.

Cerise didn't exactly know Crystal's situation, and it wasn't her place to ask, even though the sigh and the way the woman seemed so flippant made her feel like there was something more to it. Crystal seemed to have a good head on her shoulders and had an air of maturity around her that Cerise didn't think she'd ever be able to achieve. Still though, she couldn't help but think it was probably hard on her in some way. Something happened on the show that made her frown. One of the twins from earlier was hitting on who she had found out was the maid's grandmother. "...Wow. What a douche...and she's so old!" She stuck out her tongue in disgust as she watched the main character present the old woman with a rose and take her hands while kneeling. "Wow, okay then. “

Crystal was honestly really enjoying how Cerise reacted to things. It was almost too good to bother translating and resolving the misunderstanding, but she did anyway. "Actually, he's asking her if he can marry the maid. Since her father is deceased, he has to ask the mother. Common courtesy, I guess." She gave Cerise a smile before she was shifting again. That made so much more sense than what Cerise thought was going on. Now she didn't have to be so disturbed at what was going on. because otherwise that would have been so gross.  Cerise shook her head to get that imagery out of her mind. She let her eyes shift over to Crystal who was beginning to look uncomfortable.

It was a little annoying, the way her hips were aching, and she had a stitch in her side that wouldn't go away. God, it hurt, and oh, God, no, hormones. This was not the time, but now she was crying. Everything had a tendency to hit her all at once when pregnant, and fate had decided that now was the time. Crystal was suddenly crying way harder than she needed to be in front of this person she'd just met. Thank God Vanderwood wasn't home, because that would have been way worse. "I'm sorry. I...hormones...and life, and I'm sorry." Not classy at all.

Cerise had been about to ask if there was anything Crystal needed again before she...started to cry. Her eyes widened, and she had no idea what to do. Was there something wrong? Did she need to call a doctor? Oh God, she couldn't even function in the kitchen correctly, so how was she going to deal with a sick pregnant woman? Her panicking was cut short when Crystal said it was just hormones and apologized. Oh, so that's what it was. It didn't surprise her that pregnancy would put your hormones on the fritz. She didn't know Crystal well, but she liked her well enough.

"Hey, it's okay." Cerise scooted just a little closer and gently patted her back. "I would think that you had every right to cry, hormones or not. It seems tough, so I don't blame you one bit...Just let it out if you need to. I'm not about to judge you..." There was a look of concern on her face. Crystal probably didn't have many people to talk to, and considering everything, she probably had to mask her emotions pretty well. "You know...I cry over really dumb things. At least you have a reason to. Like, ummm...." She laughed nervously before she spoke. It was embarrassing but maybe it would help Crystal take her mind of things at least a little? "I might have cried because I ran out of bubble bath...because I like to pour it down the drain in the bath. You know...so the sharks won't get me." Oh God, she knew how ridiculous this sounded, but she kept on anyways. "I got in the tub before I realized it, and I just lost it. I made Marion run to the store to get more before I could calm down."

Just a second ago she had been crying, sobbing really, but now Crystal was laughing. "Sharks?" Could she really think that was a thing? Cerise seemed to realize how ridiculous it was. Crystal wiped at her eyes, thankful that she hadn't bothered to put makeup on that morning, since that would have been everywhere by now. "You're fascinating, you know that?" She finally calmed down enough from her laughter to talk like a normal human being. Cerise laughed and nervously pulled her hair over her shoulder. At least Crystal was laughing again, she had a beautiful laugh, too, looked beautiful laughing. How was that fair? Oh well, Cerise knew that she was pretty darn cute herself, even if she was lacking in a few certain areas. Still though...some people got all the luck.

The stitch in Crystal’s side had seemingly disappeared, so that was fantastic. Crystal made eye contact with Cerise, golden eyes to grey, and now she was spilling her feelings, God knows why, but that was what was happening. "I'm just scared of doing this alone..." She coughed and sat back up, clicking her nails together lightly to distract herself. "I'm sorry. I think we were watching a show." That's right, deflect. This was the way she was used to dealing with her problems lately. There was no reason for her to be afraid of being alone now.

Cerise blinked as Crystal began to talk again, letting out her true feelings. Crystal probably really needed to talk it out, and honestly, Cerise didn't mind listening. "That kinda thing can wait, you know?" She turned down the television, so she could better hear Crystal's soft and airy voice, turning towards her. This really wasn't any of her business, but she knew that at least for her, talking about things tended to make her feel somewhat better. "I think that's a normal thing to be afraid of. I know we don't know each other so well, but if you need to get it off your chest, you can. It'll be just between us." Cerise put her phone to the side to show Crystal that she had her full attention. "No boys allowed~"

Crystal eyed Cerise a little warily. The younger woman was willing to listen, but Crystal wasn't sure if she wanted to let her in. She'd never let anyone in, no one but the man she’d fallen in love with, and this woman was a virtual stranger. Then again, she seemed to have some sort of connection with her. Besides that, she'd been sticking her own nose into Cerise and Vanderwood's business the entire time she'd been staying with them, so it was only fair if she at least told her a little.

She chuckled a little about Cerise’s comment of no boys allowed, patting her stomach as she deflected with humor once more. "I have no idea what this one is, yet. I try not to think too hard on it." Cerise laughed lightly at Crystal's joke. It was probably hard for her to talk about, and she wouldn't blame her if she didn't want to. Cerise would have been a little wary herself to talk about her personal problems with a complete stranger. Crystal bit at her thumb nail lightly before she took a breath and decided to let it out.

"So...I know exactly who the father is, and he's not just some random john...I met him through my job, though. First, I stripped, and then I became an escort. I've paid off all my loans and even built myself a house, have tons in savings, and at this point that's just all I've been working for..." So, she was telling Cerise more than she'd meant to, but now it was too late to stop. "Anyway...I met him at a gala party, and we started talking. Not only was he attractive, but he cared about me. He wasn’t trying to just sleep with me."

There was a small pause as she took another deep breath before continuing on. "I love him...At first I tried to pretend he didn’t mean a thing to me, that it was just a little fling, but I was hopelessly smitten from the moment I met him, even if I didn’t realize it at first. When we met up…I was fully intending to sleep with him, that was a given, but I wasn’t expecting to get pregnant. When we parted ways, I started to ignore him again, because I had to. It hurt more, since…I’d figured out how I felt about him, that he feels the same way, but we can’t be together because of his job. Obviously, I’ve quit working as an escort, and I have plenty of connections, but…He’s…” Could she really trust Cerise with this information? For someone like Vanderwood to be with her, Cerise had to be good at keeping secrets. “Zen, a musical actor…Even if I didn’t have the history I do, a baby would kill any chance he has of making it unless I gave him every connection I have.”

Honestly, Cerise had been a little surprised when Crystal began to talk, and she made sure that she was giving her her full attention. She soaked up the information that Crystal was giving her. Wow, she had a hard life. Wasn't it good, though, that she knew the father? Even loved him? She continued to listen, letting Crystal take her time, nodding where it was necessary to show that she was still listening and paying attention. Cerise could tell that Crystal really cared about this guy, and she really felt for her. It sounded, in a way, similar to the way her own parents had ended up together. She’d caused her father’s retirement from K-pop music, because he loved her mother. They had all been happy…for the most part.

Cerise took a moment to collect her thoughts before she tried to offer any sort of comment. The name ‘Zen’ sounded a little familiar, but that wasn’t really the point at the moment. "Does he know at least?” When Crystal shook her head, Cerise sucked in her cheek, thinking before she spoke again. "I'm not really an expert on these things, but…he should at least know about his baby, even if it might cause the end of his career. Doesn’t he have a right to know that he’s a father? Especially if he feels the same way about you as you feel about him." Would it do any good to talk about her own experiences? She did on some level have experience with this situation, obviously not exactly, but close.

“My dad was a K-pop star before he married my mom. They only got married because of me. Surprise!” Cerise giggled for a moment before she continued. “Anyway…my dad chose my mom and me, because he loved us both, and we’ve been happy. My dad found his ways to still work in the music industry, and it’s not like it’s impossible or anything. Things will be hard, that’s for sure, but you know, I’m sure you can face things a lot better together than you can alone.”

Crystal had gone back to biting at her thumbnail as Cerise talked, not because she wasn't listening, just because it was a nervous habit. Cerise wasn't stupid by any means, and her family history had its similarities. What Cerise was saying, it wasn't unlike things she'd told herself several times. Just...telling yourself and trying to build up the strength to actually face the results were two different things. "I've told myself plenty of times that at the very least he deserves to know, and my baby deserves the chance to meet their father, that there’s some way to keep his career going...but actually telling him is a completely different beast."

"Yeah...I could see that. Honestly, if I were in your shoes...I'm not sure what I would do. I think that all you can really do is let it play out. At least trying it and knowing is better than not knowing, you know?" Having that looming overhead seemed like it would be killer. Cerise was the type of person where she would rather get it over with and know rather than trying to worry about it and go through the what ifs over and over in her head.

Cerise watched as Crystal played around with her phone, seemingly aimlessly as she continued to chomp on her poor thumbnail. That made Cerise wince a little. Crystal’s nails were so well-kept, too, and a manicure needed to be respected. “Maybe…you should text him?” That got Crystal to stop playing with her phone, actually turning it over to check the screen. Really, that wasn’t the worst place to start, and Crystal had honestly been playing around with that thought much like she’d been doing with her phone.

"Alright..." Crystal took a deep breath before she typed something up, asking Zen if he wanted to meet and talk, preferably at his place if they could manage it. He almost immediately replied, although he seemed way more excited than her heart could take. He’d understand soon enough. "Okay...so...that's going to be taken care of." She felt relieved and nervous at the same time, but she had a day or so to think through what she was going to say to him, what she could do with the situation.

Crystal rubbed her stomach lightly as she felt that little stitch in her side again. "God, I have a little wiggler in there." Cerise just giggled at the comment about the little one. Crystal would probably have a really cute baby. Even if its father were super ugly, Crystal's good genes would more than make up for it. "I dunno...but I have a feeling things will somehow work out." Talking to Crystal felt a lot different than talking to her friend back home. It was like Crystal actually cared about what she had to say. That was actually a really nice feeling.

The lavender-haired woman laughed somewhat nervously. If anything, at least she would have the baby, and now she felt like she had a friend. "You're a much better friend than Marie..." Crystal had meant to muse that to herself in her head, but it had slipped out. At least it was true. Cerise probably didn't even know who Marie was. When Crystal mentioned the name "Marie", Cerise was pretty sure who she was talking about and scrunched her face up. Cerise wasn't really a fan of Marie, considering what went down the last time they had encountered her. "I...don't think that would be hard." She couldn't imagine being that woman's friend, if Crystal had to put up with her...she felt even worse for the poor woman. Jeeze.

She was surprised by Cerise's reaction. "Wait, do you know her?" Come to think of it, it was right about the time that Vanderwood stopped calling that Marie had come to her complaining about her broken wrist. She had blown the girl off, thinking she probably deserved it. If it had anything to do with Cerise, she definitely thought Marie had deserved it. "You're right, it's easy to be better than Marie. She's a complete dunderhead." Crystal flicked her ponytail as she continued. "The girl kept trying to touch me all the time once she found out that I was pregnant. Not that I would have minded if she’d asked, but she was just all over me touching me. I am so glad I won't have to deal with her anymore. She nearly told my boss before I could." How Marie had any clients, Crystal had no clue. Maybe some guys just loved that complete bubbly idiot vibe.

"That really doesn't surprise me." Cerise shook her head, recalling the incident from before. "She doesn't seem to know how to keep her hands to herself. " _Aaaaand that's how you get a broken wrist._ She thought to herself. Marie kinda deserved it. "Ya know...I don't blame you. I never knew people like her could exist, really." That woman seemed like a complete idiot who didn't know when to quit. How did she even get into the escort business? Did guys really like girls like her? Honestly, she didn't understand. She knew that at some point Vanderwood had seen her, but for the sake of her sanity, she wasn't about to ask him about it. "Silver lining though, right?"

Crystal shrugged with a chuckle. "Fair point...There's a lot of silver linings." Not that her job had been so terrible really; it was a dangerous occupation that had become boring, but she'd made a lot of money, and that was the whole reason she'd done it in the first place. Sex had never really mattered to her, had always been a regular biological need, so that hadn't been an issue for her. Still, all in all. "I'm glad it's over...Would be nice to be a normal person for a while." Crystal gave Cerise another smile. "Well, as normal as I can be."

Cerise shrugged with a smile. "I wouldn't say that you weren't 'normal' before. There was nothing wrong with you." Everyone had their different circumstances; Crystal just happened to have some that were more uncommon than others. It didn't make her weird or anything. At least, she didn't get that vibe from her at all. Crystal actually had a fairly pleasant aura. In fact, it was a little reminiscent to that of her Uncle Emil’s.

The lavender-haired woman was surprised at how quickly she'd let Cerise grow on her. Cerise seemed to have that effect, and it was probably part of the reason that she worked so well with Vanderwood. Crystal couldn't imagine getting that guy to open up, but Cerise had done it somehow. She moved her hand up higher on her stomach. "Would you like to maybe touch?" That wasn't something she offered lightly, because it was still her body, and she was very clear on who got to touch her and who didn't.

Cerise's eyes lit up and she nodded. She'd never been around a pregnant person, much less gotten to touch their tummy. "If you're okay with it, I'd love to!" Very gently she reached out to touch Crystal’s mildly protruding belly. She wondered if she could feel anything from the baby; Crystal had said the baby was active. She was entirely fascinated by it, and it felt so weird. Her stomach wasn't hard, but it wasn't soft either. Cerise looked up towards Crystal with a curious look on her face. "Erm...this might seem like a weird question but...does it hurt? Doesn't your skin start stretching and stuff?" Hopefully, Crystal wouldn't mind her asking possibly dumb questions. She'd probably never experience these things for herself, well...maybe at least not for a long, long time. Cerise might as well ask someone currently experiencing it.

Her questions weren't all that weird, and honestly, Crystal might have asked them herself if situations were reversed, but she shook her head. "It mostly itches, but if you use moisturizer religiously you can avoid stretch marks and the itchiness. The only thing that really hurts is your hips adjusting. Then as you get bigger, your ligaments stretch. I've heard that can be painful, but I'm only around ten weeks pregnant, so I haven't experienced it yet.” Cerise moved her hand around a little more. There was really a baby in there, huh? That was so weird, but life was weird. Crystal, as much as she was nervous and maybe even afraid, Cerise was pretty sure she, her baby, and the dad would come out of things okay. Maybe that was just wishful thinking, but that’s what she was hoping for. Either way, she felt she’d made a good friend, and she was totally up for giving babysitting a try.

Remember Crystal has a hidden scene Crystal Backstory

Check out my website. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	22. Sickly Dry Spell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stressful past week is going to continue to be stressful as Vanderwood finds there will be no relief. He questions if he really should be seeking sex as 'relief' anyway. However, things keep pushing the issue of sexual frustration versus normal frustration. I'm sure they'll get better.

***Seeing as I took the last week off, I'm setting you up for what will be a glorious smut chapter next week. That's right. You heard me...read me? Anyway! We return to the Cherrywood goodness! There are two hidden scenes in this chapter (learn about those through the link to my website at the end of the chapter) including Cerise getting her period and thinking that Vanderwood is gay (somehow they connect) and Cherrywood planning their wedding after watching the 'world's longest sex scene' in one of Vandy's movies. LOL. It certainly adds to the sexual frustration. ~Let's Connect! FFC***

This wasn't good. It wasn't good at all. One moment, Cerise had been innocently commenting on her friend's picture that her top was tacky, and then the next, she found herself in a mad dash for the bathroom where she had started to throw up. It was such a gross feeling, being sick. How even had she managed to _get_ sick? Nothing really jumped out at her. Just when she thought she was done, she found herself retching again. This was horrible.

Vanderwood was so happy as he walked in the house, knowing that Crystal would be out of the house after a day of ‘girl time’ with Cerise. God it was great. Finally, he would have Cerise all to himself again. With as much stress as Crystal had brought him, too, it wasn't so weird for him not to want her living in Cerise’s house, was it? She was nice enough, but as soon as she had made up with her baby daddy, he had avoided her little stays at Cerise’s place to hang out, because her observational skills were stifling. He locked the door behind him as he came back into the house. "Cerise, I'm back!" Now, where was his wonderful fiancée so that he could sweep her into his arms and kiss her like there was no tomorrow?

Cerise heard the sound of her fiancé coming home, and she scrambled to close the bathroom door, accidentally slamming it. She couldn't let him see her like this, no way. After she’d barely gotten the door closed, she was throwing up again. Where was it all coming from? Cerise hadn't really eaten that much. She groaned when she was done and turned to lightly bang her head against the wall, still feeling nauseated.  This sucked.

He heard the door slam, rushing to find which one it was and that’s when he heard her...vomiting? Not good. He lightly rapped his knuckles on the door to alert her to his presence outside. "Shortcake, I'm coming in." There was no way he was about to leave her sick by herself. How had she even gotten sick? Vanderwood opened the door slowly and walked inside. She shot a quick glare at him for coming in and was about to protest before she was violently interrupted by another round of unpleasantness. Ugh...she _really_ hadn't wanted him to see her like this. At least he was keeping his voice soft as he bent down to rub her back. "Hello mon amour...Think you're done?"

Cerise was pretty sure she was done after this time, at least for now, but she didn’t have the energy to give a proper reply. She groaned a little and just slinked down, resting her head on the sink cabinet. Now she managed a pitiful, "Go away," and pretty much accepted that she was going to let the bathroom be her home for a while. If he wanted to use one, he could have the main bathroom. This was home now. It wasn't that she was ungrateful for his help. She was just gross and really horribly not cute at the present moment. Cerise made a motion with her hand to shoo him away, convinced that he had seen more than enough now.

He ignored her instructions and gestures to leave. Instead, he grabbed one of her bigger scrunchies from the upper cabinet and put it around her hair, just in case any more vomit was going to make its way up, before he returned to rubbing her shoulders and back. Vanderwood wasn't applying much pressure, just a soft stroke that he hoped was comforting. "I'm not going anywhere until you feel better, Cerise." While his voice was still gentle, he made sure to be firm, so she understood there was no point in wasting her energy on trying to get him to leave.

That stupid, amazing, helpful _jerk_. Cerise knew that arguing with him right now was not going to do her any good, and she really didn't have the energy to keep it up. As long as he continued to stroke her back, maybe she’d permit him to stay. It really was soothing and helped her to feel a bit better. After sitting in silence with her for a little while, Vanderwood looked towards the shower. "Do you think you'd like a warm shower, help you feel a little better? I can hold you up if you need me to." He was fully intending on taking care of her in every way possible. Seeing her ill...it made him feel ill, just in a different way.

Cerise considered his offer. A warm shower did sound really nice, because she felt so super icky. She stood up, and although she was shaky, she managed it. "I think I can do it...A shower sounds like heaven right about now." How could throwing up take so much out of her? It had taken no time at all to go from feeling completely fine to feeling like she'd used up two days’ worth of energy in one go. Slowly, Cerise turned on the faucet and let the water warm up, almost tumbling into the tub from reaching for the faucet. Luckily, she was able to catch herself before that could happen. "This sucks...so much. "

He’d made sure to flush the toilet for her, looking up just in time to see her almost falling as she reached for the faucet. Vanderwood wouldn't have been able to catch her in time, so he was glad she was able to do it. "Yeah...I bet it does." It really did suck. He'd been looking forward to spending time alone with her again, but it looked like their cuddles would be the comforting the sick kind. He could only remember doing that for Caleb as a child, swallowing a little lump in his throat before going to stand just behind her. "Are you sure you don't want me in the shower with you? I could at least hold your hand." If she was nearly falling with trying to turn the shower on, he wasn't all that comfortable with leaving her in the shower without support of some kind.

She was grabbing for the bubble bath when she wobbled a bit again. Maybe he did have a point. Cerise sighed and turned towards him, feeling and probably _looking_ more pale than normal. "...Fine. Can you please help me?" She had enough issues being sick without throwing a concussion or twisted ankle into the mix. Now that would truly suck. "Of course." He would love nothing more than to help her with this, because he felt rather helpless just seeing how pale she was. Vanderwood watched her carefully as she went through her 'Shark ritual' as he called it.

Cerise unscrewed the lid to the bubble bath and squeezed some down the drain to ward off any potential sharks. She could never be too careful. After securing herself from attack, she slowly and carefully began to get undressed. As she glanced back at Marion, she wobbled in the process of trying to get rid of her stockings. "May as well take one, too, ya know? Kill two birds with one stone...or something like that."

Vanderwood started to pull off his gloves, nodding at her suggestion. "Yeah...that sounds like a great idea. I probably need one anyway.” It was impossible for him not to notice that she was struggling a little, so he moved to lightly push her so that she was leaning against the sink before bending to peel away first one stocking and then the other. It took everything in him not to run his hands over and shape her legs. That was not what she needed right now. Internally griping at himself, Vanderwood removed his own clothes as well before getting into the shower on the side furthest from the water and offering her his hand to help her in.

How pathetic and helpless was she that she had needed help with her stockings? He seemed to understand, though...not that she hadn't expected him to. Now that she was finished undressing, she took his hand and finally made her way into the shower, sighing when she felt the warm water hit her. Cerise pulled out the hair tie before it was impossible to remove from her soaked hair and carelessly tossed it aside. The water felt as good as she thought it might. "Thanks...sorry about this."

She was feeling way too sick and puke-y to even care about their nudity, resting her head against his chest as she felt another wave of nausea wash over her. Cerise was pretty sure she was done throwing up for now, so she was just gonna let the warm water and her fiancé's company help her feel better. Medicine was certainly out of the question for her. Eventually, she'd have to actually try and bathe as well as let him do so, but for now, she just wanted to stay like this and let the warm water hit her.

He wrapped his arms around her, lightly brushing his fingertips along her skin, not trying to do anything except comfort. "You don't need to apologize for being sick." Vanderwood couldn't remember the last time he was sick, but he could imagine it felt awful. They could stand under the warm water for a while if that's what would make her feel better. After they were done, he'd need to blow dry her hair. He had no idea what it would look like air-dried; he was concerned with the fact that she'd be cold while her hair took its time drying. Cerise would need to eat something, too. Vanderwood would have to figure something out that she could keep down.

Cerise wasn't sure how long they had stayed like that. She had kind of zoned out and focused on him and the warm water. Somehow, even though the water was helping with her nausea, it was making her feel more tired and lethargic. It had even managed to make her forget that she needed to actually wash off. Once Vanderwood felt like the hot water was starting to run out, he reached and turned it off, keeping her firmly held with his other arm before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her as well as he could manage. "Sit on the edge of the tub for me while I get you a chair, so you can sit while I dry your hair." He'd need a few instructions on what he was doing, but they'd figure it out. As he gave her instructions, Cerise nodded, sitting on the edge of the tub as he had asked and waiting while he brought a chair.

When he finally showed up with one, she moved over to it, instructing him on how to turn on the hairdryer. She gave him the basic instructions. It wouldn't be as meticulous as she normally was about it, but she was too tired and ill to care. The way she had him do it would leave her hair slightly wavy, but it would at least be dry. Maybe at some point she'd try to explain exactly how to do it, but right now, she couldn't be bothered. "Even if my hair is just slightly damp, I don't care. I just wanna lie down asap."

Vanderwood was certain that her hair wasn't coming out quite the way that she normally would do it, but he could always do this again for her sometime when she wasn't feeling horrible. It was even taking a little longer than usual, but he was doing his best. "I just want it dry enough that you won't be cold...You can lie down soon." Her hair was just lightly damp as he ran his fingers through to check for any wet spots he'd missed. A part of him was annoyed by the fact that it wasn’t entirely dry, but he was going to have to suck it up.

There was something almost therapeutic for Cerise about him drying and running his fingers through her hair; she almost found herself dozing off and relaxing despite feeling absolutely crummy. She was definitely awake though as Marion made his next move. Vanderwood picked her up from the chair, still wrapped in the towel like she was, because he didn’t want her trying to walk any more than she needed to. Cerise seemed like she was about to argue, but apparently decided against it. "Let's get you into bed." There was really no reason for her to be walking around or to get dressed, anyway. She was staying in bed. He left the chair in the room and focused on getting her laid into the bed and tucking the blankets in around her.

Despite being sick, Cerise could still feel her heart melting at the way he was taking care of her. She _did_ like being carried in his arms, even if a part of her wanted to argue that she was perfectly capable of walking. Marion was just being so sweet, though, and she was _so_ tired. He was literally tucking her in and making sure she was comfortable, and it made her feel just that much better. Her fiancée was so amazing, and she absolutely adored this man. "Will you stay for a little while?" She grabbed for a pillow to hold as he finished tucking her in, looking up at him and feeling somewhat like a whiny child.

He brushed her hair back from her forehead gently. Vanderwood was so concerned for welfare that he wasn't even thinking about the fact that she was completely naked under the covers. "I can stay as long as you want." Lightly, he checked her forehead for fever, but didn't feel one, which was good. "If you can take a nap, you should..." He would get her some food when she woke up, since she probably didn't want any at the moment.

"That sounds like a good idea." If she was asleep, then she didn't have to feel sick. Plus, maybe sleep would do her some good, since she was feeling so tired now. "Please stay until I fall asleep, 'kay?" She was already feeling drowsy, and being under the covers after a shower was one of the best feelings in the world. "Maybe I can sleep this off or something..." Cerise buried her face into the green fuzzy pillow she had, finding it to be weirdly comforting before settling more into the bed.

Marion was earning himself a lot of points, even if he _had_ gone into the bathroom without her permission earlier. He mumbled a soft agreement to her request as he stroked her hair. She knew that he wasn't really one to nap, but she also knew that if she’d asked him to stay until she fell asleep at least, he would do it. Cerise felt another wave of nausea come over her right as she began to fall asleep, but she wasn't so worried about it. It would probably be over by the time she woke up. She muttered a small, “Love you," as she fell asleep.

Vanderwood kept up with stroking her hair until he was certain she’d fallen asleep, and then he pulled his hand away, not wanting to disturb her as she slept. "I love you, too..." He watched her sleeping for a little while, listening to the sound of her breathing. This wasn't how today was supposed to have gone, which was irritating on some level. It had been a pretty stressful week for him as well as having been a while since they'd last slept together, but maybe that made her illness well-timed. Since he shouldn't be looking forward to it to relieve his stresses.

He decided he might as well go make sure the bathroom was clean and put away the chair while she was sleeping. Vanderwood hated things out of their place. Right now, he just wanted her to get better, and that's where his focus should stay. He realized that this was the second time they'd showered together, and he still hadn't made that moment into a sexual one. Maybe he really was getting better from his addiction. After he finished cleaning up, he checked on her, finding that she was still sleeping peacefully and pressing a little kiss to her forehead before murmuring to her softly. “I'll be here when you wake up."

***Hidden Scene, learn about it through my website. – Cerise and Vanderwood watch a sex scene movie together and talk about their upcoming wedding ***  
  
She had eventually woken up from her nap in the afternoon, and Vanderwood made her some porridge which thankfully stayed down and did actually taste better than it looked. After a movie or two of his, unfortunately with one of the longest sex scenes he’d ever seen and her head in his lap not making life any easier on him, Cerise went back to bed once more to keep sleeping it off. He woke her for dinner, but her day consisted of on and off sleeping. Eventually, he joined her. Vanderwood simply slipping into bed, wrapping his arms around her, as usual falling asleep to the sound of her breathing and her warmth against his chest.

His sleeping was anything but peaceful, dreams of kissing Cerise turning into making love, and then even sleeping he was grinding up against her. Vanderwood moaned rather loudly in her ear, completely unaware of what he was doing. Cerise woke up abruptly and didn't have time to fully process what was happening before she bounded away, was chucking pillows at him. She eventually rolled off the side of the bed with a loud thunk, getting up and rubbing at her elbow as she proceeded to send him a glare. _Did he really...?_ She was sick! Cerise paused... _Wait._ She wasn't feeling horrible anymore! It must have been some weird twenty-four-hour bug.

The pillows hitting him had woken him up rather abruptly, making him scan the room and nearly grab for his weapon stashed just between the mattress and headboard, but apparently, he’d just woken her abruptly, too. Vanderwood just sort of stared at her as she glared, his mind taking some time to catch up and try to figure out what he was supposed to say. Cerise hadn't realized that he had been asleep and was just having a rather exciting dream. "You could have just asked, ya know." She gave him another glare for good measure before running off to the kitchen to heat up some leftovers, not waiting for an explanation. Cerise was starving and didn't want to wait for him to get up and make anything. Hell, she didn't even know what time it was.

She was gone in a second, and he was calling out after her. "I'm sorry! I was dreaming!" Bloody Hell, he was painfully hard, too. Vanderwood flopped back onto the bed. Maybe it would just go away? His thoughts slipped to the dream he'd been having, and no, it was _not_ going away. Bloody fucking Hell. He pushed out of bed and peeked out at her in the kitchen. She seemed to be feeling better, but he ended up deciding that she would just say no if he asked now, considering. Better to just take care of it himself, and then maybe some of the frustration would be gone for a while, too, so he wouldn't be dealing with it like earlier today.

"I'm taking a shower." What he really needed was a _cold_ shower, but he really needed to get off if he wanted to be able to spend time with her like a normal person for the next few days. Vanderwood went into her bathroom and turned on the water. It was normal for him to get hard-ons in the shower as it was, and it was easier cleanup. Damn, he was ridiculously hard, but considering that he'd dreaming about Cerise doing something very similar to what had seen on that secret agent movie they’d watched in the past afternoon, and… _No, time to stop thinking about it. Just get it over with, and get some relief._

Cerise took out some of the leftover Indian takeout she had ordered when she and Crystal had decided to try the Indian soap operas out the day before. It seemed like a fun little thing to do, but the portions had been so big that she hadn’t been able to finish hers. Crystal, on the other hand, had ordered what seemed like three entrées and ate every bite. That woman was a monster. Cerise dumped the meat and vegetables on a plate and put it in the microwave. She closed it and pressed some buttons but...it wasn't doing anything?  Frowning, she tried again. Nothing.

So far, her morning was not that great. Marion had woken her up from a dead sleep to moan in her ear and grind her, and the microwave was being a butt. Whelp. Maybe Marion would know how to fix it. She’d heard him call something out about the shower and all of it having been from a dream but hadn’t really paid much attention. At any rate, the shower was running, so she had a good feeling that was where he was. Cerise made her way to the bathroom and knocked on the door loudly. "Mariooooonnnn! The microwave isn't workiiiiiing. Can you fix it?" He could take a shower whenever, but she wanted food _now_.

He was just pulling off his pajama pants when she called him. For the sake of all that was or wasn’t holy, why did the microwave have to be not working now? Vanderwood turned off the water, stuffing his unfortunate arousal back into his pants. "Give me a second." Bloody Hell. He leaned his forehead against the doorframe for a bit before he made his way out to the kitchen, not looking at her so as to not get his imagination going again.

Finding the problem turned out to be much easier than expected as he plugged the microwave in with an exasperated grunt. "How about you make sure it's plugged in next time?" Yeah, he was being a bit of an asshole. Cerise just huffed at him. Did he have to be such a jerk? All she had asked was to figure out what was up with the microwave. It wasn't like she was asking a lot of him.

Vanderwood sighed as he started walking away back towards her room, giving her a noncommittal wave. "Sorry, ignore me." She called out after him, not caring about the half-apology. "How about you shut your face!" Psh. Cerise shook her head and heated up the leftovers. The aroma from it was wafting off of it, and it smelled as good as it had when she got it. Once Vanderwood was back in the bedroom, he just sat on the edge of the bed breathing. Fate clearly didn't want him to have relief, because now he wasn't at the level of hardness to do anything, and he wasn't about to intentionally get himself there, least of all when he was getting frustrated.

When her food was done, Cerise took it out and mixed up the sauce that had settled to the bottom of the plate. Before she decided to dig in, she had an idea. If she had Marion taste the dish, maybe he'd be able to recreate it for dinner sometime. As much as he had been acting like a jerk all morning, he could at least agree to do that for her, couldn’t he? Cerise grabbed her plate and took off after Marion to the bedroom, finding him sitting on the edge of the bed, looking a little miserable. Her assumption was that he was just being grumpy after not getting any that morning. She took a little bit of everything on a fork and held it up to him. "Taste this...maybe you could recreate it sometime for me?"

He looked up when she came in and raised an eyebrow at her suggestion. She'd heated whatever it was up in the microwave, and he was not a fan of microwave food. Then again, she'd just been pissed at him for him being a dick, so he might as well make her happy. "Alright..." He looked it over first, trying to discern what was in it and then took the bite offered. It didn't taste so bad. Then he swallowed, and his stomach lurched a little. _Okay. Weird._

Vanderwood locked eyes with her before his stomach did it again, and now it made sense. Cerise looked back at him confused as his eyes widened somewhat at the pain he was now feeling before his tone came out clipped and fearful. "Do not eat any more of that." Was he trying to discern the different flavor components? "Don't--why not?" His stomach was very audibly growling, so maybe he was just hungry and wanted some more. Cerise was about to say that he could just have half before he was up and making a mad dash for the bathroom. She followed closely after him, worry etched across her features. Oh no, he was throwing up now.

He had gotten up quicker than he had ever before in his life, getting to the bathroom to lose everything into the toilet. Oh, Bloody fucking Hell. This was the first time in ages that he was throwing up, and now he remembered the taste and smell of bile. That was fucking fantastic. Vanderwood started to dry-heave after the actual food was out of him. It just wouldn't stop, barely giving him enough time to breathe between. Well. If he died from this, at least it was a lot less painful than other ways. Except, he didn't want to die, because he had a reason to be alive...even if she was the reason he was vomiting.

Realization hit Cerise as she watched him in horror. It was probably the Indian food. That was probably what had had made her sick, too. She wasn't sure what to do other than do what he had for her, rushing to his side and holding his hair out of the way as she rubbed his back. "Ohmigosh Marion...I am soooooo sorry. I didn't know, I promise!" She was going to call and have words with the place she had ordered from, because whatever it was that had made them so sick was in that food.

Okay, so the dry-heaving was slowing down, enough to let him breathe normally. It still burned like Hell, but he was happy to be breathing. Vanderwood had no idea what Cerise was saying, because he just wasn't processing anything. He felt suddenly exhausted and leaned back against the side of the cabinet. At least her hands on him felt good, soothing. "I'm going to pass out..." His nose and throat were burning, and he needed to wash out the acid, but he felt so incredibly lethargic. It wasn't possible that he had lost that much oxygen to his brain, was it? _No...probably not...What the Hell_? It seemed to be affecting him way worse than it had her, and now his body was cramping up as he broke out in a cold sweat. Maybe his years of getting beat up were catching up to him, that and his age. Vanderwood all but whimpered and closed his eyes as his stomach clenched painfully.

Cerise felt a little frantic. He was _really_ sick. "Come on, Marion. You should lie down." She couldn't do much in the way of moving him, but she helped to urge him up. "Let's get you over there, and then I'll get you some water and a cool cloth...It's not far, mon amour." At first, when she told him to get up, he just shook his head, but then she was pushing at him, urging him out of the bathroom, and he followed, slow and sluggish. Somehow, they made it over to the bed, and when she got him to lie down, she disappeared before coming back with a glass of water and a cool rag.

“Here.” She gave Vanderwood the glass with a straw and dabbed at his face some with the rag until he was done with his water. The bed felt like heaven, and the first thing he did when she gave him the glass with the straw was to swish out the bile in his mouth and swallow. His stomach protested a little, but he managed to drink the entire glass before laying his head back and letting her dab at his face even more with the cloth. She was some kind of angel right now.

It really sucked seeing him so ill, and maybe she understood why he hadn’t let her shoo him away the day before. "Try to rest, okay? Is there anything you want? I'm soooooo so sorry, Marion." He shook his head no to her question. "It's not your fault..." Right now, he just felt tired, but he still attempted to lift an arm to rub at her back to comfort her, managing a pat before he stopped trying. Bloody Hell, he _felt_ like Hell. "I’m...going to sleep..." He closed his eyes and was out like a light, something that never happened with him unless he was at the edge of exhaustion.

Cerise felt terrible for being the reason he was sick. He was even out as soon as he’d closed his eyes, which was _so totally not normal_. She told him that she loved him and placed a soft kiss to his forehead, resigning herself to now being the care-taker. Cerise stayed there lounging on the bed to monitor him while playing games on her phone for a while before she got up to call the Indian place they had ordered from.

She was on the phone with them for a good while, and after feeling like she was getting nowhere, she finally hung up. "No wonder we would get this sick with idiots like that working there, ugh." Cerise was grumbling and talking to nobody in particular as she paced through her living room. She decided to unwind by watching random videos on her phone, even coming across people who had taken dance routines that she had come up with and decided to try them out themselves. There was something so wonderful about that, a smile on her face as she watched people she had never even met before doing her dances.

Vanderwood’s eyes opened slowly before he turned his head to see his clock...lunchtime. He made a move as though to get up, but his body just wasn't letting him. Everything felt sore and heavy. Oh good...How was he supposed to eat or do anything? He was going to have to figure it out somehow. "Cerise?" Where was his fiancée? Hopefully at least _she_ was feeling alright.

A video had just ended when she heard her sick fiancé's voice from her room, and she was there in a flash. "Marion?" She made her way to his side and lovingly caressed his cheek. "Feeling any better, mon amour? Are you hungry?" Could he even keep anything down? She offered him some more water from the bedside that she had refilled for him.

He was grateful that she was there so quickly. "I feel like shit...Are you alright?" She looked a lot better. Vanderwood tried to sit up and grunted at how sore he was, somehow managing. He likely looked a sight in among all her pink and her horde of pillows, but that was the same as always, just now with him sick as fuck. The water she offered him went down surprisingly well, and then he leaned his head back against the wall, reaching for her hand. His stomach felt ridiculously empty other than the water, but he wasn't nauseous, so maybe food would work out okay. The only issue was he'd have to make it, seeing as they didn't have any leftovers after Crystal's visit. That woman was an eating tyrant. "I'm starving...I need to get up." As wonderful as Cerise was, he still didn’t trust her in the kitchen, and he did _not_ want anything microwaved. Fuck no to that.

"Oh no, you're not getting up." She shot a glare at him and held it to make a point. "I can make something, and before you argue, you're in no position to be up, much less up and cooking. Nope. No sir. " Cerise narrowed her eyes at him, holding a finger up as though she were going to put it on his lips to silence him if he tried to complain. "I won't use the microwave. I know you hate that. Just shut up and trust me." She had an idea of something she could make for him, and she was fairly confident that she could pull it off. No matter what, there was no way she was going to let him get up and move around when he was sick. "Wait here, and don't move, okay?" She placed a kiss to his forehead and disappeared into the kitchen to cook.

Vanderwood’s mouth almost fell open as she griped at him. Cerise seemed to have predicted his thoughts all too easily. Guess that was the problem with having a soulmate; she just knew what he was thinking. It was equal parts irritating and marvelous. The kiss to his forehead was very welcomed, but damn it, he wanted her to stay. Was that weird? He was sick as fuck, and he just wanted her in his arms, certainly not in the kitchen. He couldn’t stop worrying about what she was doing in the kitchen, listening for anything happening just in case. There was nothing quite as panic inducing as wanting to be right by his fiancée’s side and not being able to be.

Okay, so what Cerise knew she was able to successfully manage was broccoli. You could make soup out of that, right? Cerise looked up some stuff on her phone and then went to work. They already had the things it was asking for. The only issue she had was washing the broccoli, naturally ending up completely soaking herself. Well...at least the broccoli was nice and clean? She wasn't wearing anything important, just a plain white tank top. Had she been wearing some of her more expensive and cute clothes, she might have been just a little bummed out. It was worth it, though, if the end result was good.

She found it was surprisingly easy to make the recipe, and it seemed like she was done in no time. Cerise made sure to double check to make sure everything was off before pouring the soup into a bowl. Looking around, she realized that the only major incident that had happened was that there was water everywhere from her attempt to wash the broccoli. Other than that, she deemed this a success. Cerise cleaned the water up off the floor so she wouldn't slip and then took a cloth to clean up around the sink. She was still rather soaked herself, but she could grab a towel after she gave him his soup. After grabbing the bowl carefully, she walked slowly back to the room with the soup in hand and sat down on the edge of the bed with it, urging him to sit up more, so he could eat. "Here, I followed a video recipe...and don't worry, I turned everything off."

Vanderwood had closed his eyes as he listened for anything, but nothing had happened, seeing as she was now back in the room with no major noise or sound of distress. When he opened his eyes, he immediately averted them up to the ceiling. Holy shit. Her white tank top was wet, and she wasn't wearing a bra. What she was saying registered a few seconds later. "Good...thank you...that's great..." He was doing anything he could not to look at her again, as tempting as it was, because he could swear his imagination was already slipping. Vanderwood did not need a hard-on when he was too sore to get up. "Shortcake...your tank top...." Hopefully, she would change it, because he couldn't look at her until she did or it dried.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "My tank top?" Oh, he was probably talking about how she had accidentally sprayed herself. "Yeah...I might have had a little issue with washing the broccoli. Oopsie!" Cerise laughed nervously. "But don't worry! There weren't any issues with the actual cooking." She gave him her trademark wink and smile. He was probably concerned with her getting a cold, considering she had just been sick herself. Marion was so considerate. "I should probably change into something dry. Be back in a flash!"

He had caught the wink, his eyes naturally seeking hers as she was talking before he averted his eyes back up to the ceiling. His face felt so hot with blush that it was ridiculous. A guy like him shouldn’t blush or get so easily caught in thoughts like that. Cerise got up and placed a kiss on the top of his head before running over to her dresser and grabbing an old oversized t-shirt before heading into her bathroom to throw it on and peel off the wet tank top. It was literally stuck to her skin and completely cold. She was so glad to be out of it. Once she was done changing, she threw her wet top into the hamper and made her way back to him. "So, how's it taste?"

 

Honestly, he had completely forgotten about the food until she spoke to him again on her return. Oh, right. He had soup in his lap. Vanderwood took a little bit to breathe before he took the spoon and actually tried the soup. Looking at it for a moment before trying it seemed to help his stomach settle into the idea of accepting food. It was…really good. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, exactly, but it was good. "It's great...thank you, mon amour." He realized he sounded really astounded, but he was.

Vanderwood looked at her shirt and realized that, sure, she'd changed, but apparently, she was still a little cold. Now he was back to staring at his soup. Why...why today when he couldn't have sex? He wanted her so badly. Vanderwood had wanted her so badly earlier when she was sick, too, and he just wasn't going to get any. The world was not making it easier. He focused on eating his soup. Better not to think about it. When he was better, right?

Cerise's face had lit up. She was absolutely ecstatic that he actually enjoyed something that she’d made without his help. It even looked like he was _really_ focusing on it, and she couldn't be happier. "I'm so glad you like it, Marion!" Grinning, she sat back on the side of the bed. "There's more if you decide you want seconds. " Maybe if this dish wasn't a disaster, she could make more than just this. She watched him enjoy his soup for a bit before speaking up again.  "Hey, Marion? I know you're sick, but...while you're lying down, do you mind if I cuddle you?" She knew she enjoyed cuddles when she was sick, maybe he would, too?

The idea of seconds was good and yet he didn’t want to risk upsetting his stomach, placing the bowl to the side. Her question wasn’t out of line or anything, but Vanderwood felt like he needed to think about it. “Give me a second.” He winced as he moved to lie down, trying to decide whether he wanted her that close as she rubbed his arm in an attempt to comfort him. On the one hand. Yes, please. He wanted to hold her and just be close. On the other hand, he'd gotten some visuals recently, and those were not helping him any with his sexual frustration problem.

Vanderwood looked at her for a few seconds before deciding that he'd rather be cuddling and dealing with potential horniness than having her so close but so far when he wanted her comfort. "Please?" Oh, and good, he sounded nice and whimper-y too. But he felt nice and whimper-y. His body was so sore; he was just plain miserable, and he needed her affection almost as much as he needed air. What a childish thing, but that's the way it was.

She couldn’t help but wonder if the reason he was taking so long to answer was her fault. Was it selfish of her to want to be close to him while he was sick? Especially considering it was her fault? He just looked so miserable, and she couldn't help but to want to snuggle up to him. Cerise was delighted to hear that, yes, he did want her company, and she took no time at all giving it to him as she took her place beside him, snuggling up close and throwing an arm around his torso.

Even while he was sick and out of it, she felt the safest and most relaxed while she was next to him like this. After what was probably a few minutes, she spoke, pulling back to look at him. "Too bad you're sick now." Cerise moved to kiss his cheek before burying her head in his shoulder. "If you would have asked me before, I would have said yes." She talked against his shoulder, her voice slightly muffled. As much as she had been surprised by the little slip-up when he’d woken her, it did make her want it, despite her irritation at the time. Oh well. It had been a while, but she could hold out until he was better again, and she was sure he'd have no qualms if _she_ asked _him_ for sex.

He had nuzzled into her hair like he liked to do. It always made him feel close to her, surrounded by her scent since she was too small to surround him physically. Then she talked, and he made a soft groan that nearly sounded like a begging moan. Cerise just stifled a giggle, knowing he was kicking himself in the butt over the situation. Beautiful. Vanderwood had to tell himself he’d be better soon. No need to stress. Soon, very soon, they would be able to have sex again. His sexual frustration would be taken care of, and he could be with Cerise in the way no one else could. Which was his favorite part about it now, whereas before it had all been sensation. Vanderwood bit his tongue and moved to roll over painfully slowly, pulling her against his chest. "I think I need a nap..."

She let him pull her to him, helping him so he didn't have to work as hard. "Yeah...sleeping really helped me, so that's probably a good idea." Cerise reached up and gently stroked his hair. "Let me know if you need something, and I'll do my best." She wasn't really tired, but she decided that she was going to go ahead and take a nap alongside him. Marion seemed to sleep better when she was there with him anyways, and he really needed to rest. "You're gonna feel better in no time, mon amour. Let's get some rest." Vanderwood murmured softly in response. Why was it that they always had unfortunate dry spell because either one of them was injured or sick? Maybe that was just the only way to keep them from it. He suppressed a snort as he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

***Hidden Scene, learn about it through my website. – Cerise has her period and dreams of Vanderwood being gay resulting in a number of hilarious and unfortunate circumstances for Vanderwood.

Check out my website. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	23. Round of Growth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood and Cerise show and appreciate just how far they've come before their next challenges appear.

***Last week was certainly quite the experience. As promised, this week will be a smut chapter. Cerise and Vanderwood are finding their connection and really proving just how they've been growing for and with each other. ~Let's Connect! FFC***

One moment he was asleep, and then he stirred to feeling her cuddling up against him more. But when she moaned his name, his eyes flew open. He looked down at her in confusion. She was still asleep, but she was definitely moaning. Oh, Bloody Hell, that was such a sexy sound. Vanderwood considered if he should let her sleep, but she was still making that noise, and he needed her. He stroked her cheek before catching her lips with his, capturing another moan. Damn. Vanderwood was beyond turned on at this point. He stopped kissing her to mumble into her ear instead. "Wake up, shortcake...wake up."

Cerise slowly came to when he had mumbled into her ear, urging her to wake up. Knowing him, it was probably still pretty early. "...Marion? Something wrong?" Her voice was still a little breathy, and she was definitely still feeling the after effects of that dream she’d been having. It wasn't helping that he was _right there_.

"Nothing's wrong...you were moaning my name." He slid his hand along her shoulder and then traced down her body. Cerise paled for a moment before he was grinding against her, letting her feel how turned on he was. The way she reacted under his touch, that was always his favorite thing. His hand went to her hip, tracing down her leg. "I've missed being close like this...have you?"

She had literally freaked out on him before for the same thing, waking her up like this. Now, she’d done it to him. Thankfully, Cerise didn't really have time to feel guilty about it, because the way he was acting and talking...it was much better to have the real thing in front of her. God, did she want him right now after that dream. "Yeah...I have." Their dry spell had been extended by Crystal, food poisoning of each of them, but by now all of that should be done. By now, all of that was over. Vanderwood squeezed her thigh, perhaps just a little roughly before his hand travelled back up. "This is okay? You're okay?"

Cerise grabbed his hand and kissed it before moving to kiss him slowly, using her other hand to slide down and lightly grab at the evidence of his arousal. She broke the kiss after a bit and caught his eyes with hers. "More than okay, mon amour. I need you." It had been a while for both of them, due to all that craziness, so she had no doubt that he needed her as much as she did him. Not that the raging erection he was sporting didn't already make that painfully clear.

He’d groaned against her mouth as she kissed and gripped him, feeling like he was far readier for this than he had been in his life. That was probably an exaggeration, but still. Her voice was incredibly sexy when she was just waking up, but it was even sexier when she was just waking up and telling him she wanted him. "I need you, too..." Vanderwood's hand shoved into her hair, tangling in the silken locks as he kissed her again, this time further deepening the kiss with a little tug to make her gasp and let his tongue in.

Ever since the time she'd asked him not to treat her like a china doll, he'd been allowing himself more freedom with her. She appreciated that he wasn't treating her like she would break. Cerise knew he was still holding back, always ready for her to push him away, but she was comfortable when he was. His kisses only made her need for him grow stronger and stronger, using her tongue to push against his to encourage him to give her more.

Marion now untangled his hand from her hair to press his hand against her heat over her shorts, rubbing at her through the fabric. Cerise couldn’t help the long moan that escaped her as she pushed herself against his hand for the added friction and pressure. She could feel how incredibly hard he was through his pajama pants, too, palming his length through them. The air around them was cool, yet her body felt like it was burning up with every touch he gave her. Being with him like this was like a breath of fresh air.

He didn't want anything between them anymore, absolutely nothing. Maybe that was just impatience, but it had been too long since they could be together like this. Vanderwood pulled back to nip at her neck and downwards to the edge of her sleeping top’s collar, Cerise letting out small moans as he did so. His hand pulled up her shirt a little. He wanted to kiss along her entire body, mark her up and remind himself who she belonged to.

Cerise quickly got the hint and removed her shirt for him, just dropping it wherever on the floor. By now, she was _mostly_ used to letting him see her topless, though sometimes she still did get the urge to cover herself. Her upper half was completely bare to him now, and she couldn't help but tease him. She gave him a wink and asked, "Like watcha see?" Oh, God, why did she do that, though? Cerise was screaming at herself internally, but oh well. They were literally about to be in the process of making love, so it wasn't like _that_ was the most mortifying thing she could say or do.

 _Not the wink._ His breath was already hitching at seeing her topless, like it always did, but the wink was not helping. Vanderwood didn't trust himself to form words, so he just nodded and decided to _show_ her that he liked the view. He nipped at her skin lightly, pressing soft kisses after each nip before he felt like he could talk again. "I love what I see."

The nips and kisses were making her skin tingle. One of his hands found hers and laced their fingers together, so Cerise squeeze backed lightly, tilting her head to give him better access as he found that spot in the crook of her shoulder that he liked so much. He ran his tongue over it before giving a bite and suck, causing her to moan out his name. Marion seemed dead-set on marking her all over as he repeated the process over her collarbone and breasts, somehow managing despite the fact that she wasn’t exactly gifted in that department. Each mark earned him whimpers of pleasure, which only got louder as he grazed his teeth over her nipple.

Vanderwood always loved how noisy she seemed to get when he paid attention to her nipples. There was so much more teasing now that he hadn't been used to when they'd first started sleeping together. He loved it, despite how much he wanted her all the time. It was nice to take at least a little time just to be intimate and enjoy each other. By the time he was done teasing her nipples with his tongue and teeth, she was crying out and squirming, her free hand bunched in his hair.

It was _her_ turn to get impatient, because now she realized they both were wearing _way_ too many clothes for her liking, and she needed them off. _Now_. She was already quite needy for him when she’d woke up, thanks to that dream. Paired with his teasing, it was almost like she couldn't think straight. "Off." Was the only thing she managed to get out before she was using her feet to hook his pajama pants and pull on them, signaling to him what she wanted, or rather, didn't want.

He snorted at the irony of it all. Here he was being slow and teasing, and now she was so horny that _she_ was the impatient one. Vanderwood wasn't about to fight it, though. Every time she told him what to do, it was incredibly sexy. With ease, he removed his pajama pants and tossed them away, fingers hooking into her bottoms to do the same for her. No more clothes, just skin to skin. Bloody Hell, she was so fucking gorgeous, and his breath hitched. It would never fail to do that. "You're so beautiful. I can't stand it." He ran his fingers over her bare skin, knowing that it would drive her crazy. Knowing that she was impatient for him the way he was for her...it made him _want_ to waste time, even though his body was pretty much begging for hers.

Cerise was used to receiving praise, but it was praise from him specifically that made her blush. People normally called her cute, adorable, pretty even, but he called her beautiful. She could be a pain or handful sometimes, but Marion saw her for the woman that she was. They'd been sexual for some time now, but she could never get over how amazing he looked fully unclothed. At first, she had been a little shy at letting her eyes wander, but now she cared less. He was hers to look at if she wanted to, just like she was his. Despite how impatient and turned on she was, Cerise playfully blew him a kiss before replying how she always had. "You're not so bad yourself~" Vanderwood couldn’t help but chastise himself as his face lit up with red. _Damn_. It shouldn't affect him that way, yet she did.

Now that there was nothing between them, Cerise just felt like she needed him even more than before. He had to know that the way he was touching her, running his fingers over her skin, was driving her absolutely mad. Marion was still teasing her; he _had_ to be. Jerk knew what he was doing. There was an internal dilemma in her mind. On one hand, she _really_ needed to feel him buried deep inside of her like _two minutes ago_ , but on the other hand...he was actually taking things slow on his own accord. She shouldn't let her hormones interfere with progress.

She took a deep, shaky breath before she captured one of his roaming hands and guided it down to her heat. Cerise leaned up to give him a deep kiss as she ran her nails lightly along his side and grinded slowly against his hand – which she was still holding in place. Now she broke the kiss and locked her eyes with his. God, she couldn't help but think that his eyes were absolutely captivating when they made love, even more than normal. "Touch me here..." Her voice sounded a lot needier than she had intended, causing her face to flush red. _Oh well..._ It seemed like the more they did this, the better she was getting at handling herself. She squeezed his hand lightly and pushed against it one more time before letting go.

The way she touched him, kissed him, even her eyes as they locked gazes, it all took his breath away. It seemed that the more they had sex and the more he teased, the more she was able to take the lead and show him what she wanted. That was beyond sexy on some strange level. Vanderwood pressed up against her heat as she placed his hand there, just the feeling of how hot and ready she was making him want to groan. Her request had him smiling as he moved to kiss the fingers of the hand he was holding. That shouldn't make him blush either, yet it did. Now he moved to tease his fingers along her slick folds before he slipped a finger inside of her, enjoying the way she wrapped around him and wishing it was something else her muscles were tightening around.

The fact that he was blushing made her crack a smile, but she couldn't really talk, because she was blushing, too. It was really hard to think with his fingers teasing at her like they were, making her bite her lip pretty hard. She wasn't sure if she was feeling more relieved or tortured. He was taking his time, and as he moved his finger more swiftly inside of her, she couldn’t help but cling to him and cry out. With the way just a finger felt, and the way she felt her muscles automatically tightened around just that, Cerise could only imagine how amazing it would feel when he finally took her.

As he moved over her more to kiss along the side of her face, she lifted her leg to press it against his own arousal, prompting a grunt. "Fuck, Cerise.." She never failed to make him cuss during sex, no matter what they were doing. He used his thumb to brush over her sensitive bud as he continued to move his finger within her. As much as he was enjoying teasing her to the edge, his patience was wearing thin after how long and frustrating a wait they'd had. "I need you, Cerise..." Vanderwood removed his finger to taste her off it before he moved, murmuring in her ear. "I missed this..." As much as he wanted to be rough and get what he needed, with Cerise he felt so different.

She loved the husky tone his voice always seemed to take when they made love, thinking it was beyond sexy. It was even sexier, because he was saying her name. Cerise found herself rather lucky that he was hers and hers solely. The way his fingers had teased had been great and felt amazing, and she’d thought she might lose her mind when he’d used his thumb to brush against her, but she was starting to crave something a little more. She desperately needed all of him. Of course, they were on the same page. "I need you, too." How could someone be so sexy? God, she couldn't even begin to explain the things he did to her, how he made her feel.

"I love you, shortcake." The words slipped out like a prayer, and the way he was now grinding against her made her let out a gasp. It was so torturous to have him so close to her but _not_ at the same time. Cerise had missed being able to do this, too, missed being close to him like this. The reply was caught in her throat. How did words work? After a few seconds she was able to form a coherent sentence. "I love you too, Marion."

With that, he moved to enter her, his moan being caught against her lips as Cerise shifted to kiss him. With their fingers still laced together, he could feel her ring against his fingers. Vanderwood was giving this one person everything he was, heart, body, and soul. He didn't regret it for even a second. Cerise was his soulmate and was giving him the same. Vanderwood could only hope to make her as happy as she made him and try to be worthy of her love. He wasn't being rough with his pace, but he was thrusting deep, tongue now roughly exploring her mouth as his other hand delved deep into the hair which he loved so much. Vanderwood just loved _her_ so much.

Her free hand mirrored his and found itself buried in his hair. Cerise’s own response to the way he was roughly exploring her mouth with his tongue was a little delayed, because it was incredibly hard to focus on much when he was thrusting so deeply into her. It was impossible not to notice how his grip on her hand pressed her ring into his fingers. There was no way that Cerise could even imagine her life without him in it. Knowing her luck, she'd probably get into trouble and end up in some deep crap or worse. Luckily for her, though, she had no doubt that he would always be there for her, just like she would for him. They were promising each other their entire lives, after all. Marion wasn't being overly gentle, but he wasn't being rough with her either. It felt absolutely perfect.

Apparently, they both kinda forgot they needed air and that breathing through your nose was a thing. Sometimes it was still such a sensory overload for her with so much going on at once. He broke the kiss to grab more air, allowing her to do the much-needed same. For Vanderwood, it was a little surreal, how good she was making him feel both physically and emotionally at once. As her hips automatically met his, it only made it that much better. Vanderwood found himself wanting to see her eyes, to lock them with his, so he nuzzled her nose gently before murmuring his request against her lips, voice low and rough dragging out into a moan at the end. "Please...look at me Cerise..."

Cerise forced her eyes open as soon as she could process his request, focusing on his own chestnut-colored ones. Her hand moved from his hair to caress his face, surprised that she could manage even that. She certainly couldn't manage forming any kind of sentence at the moment. When she tried, it would just come out as a moan or gasp, which by now, she should have known would happen. Instead, she opted to shakily trace, 'I love you' in English with her thumb into the palm of his hand that was holding hers.

Her eyes were beautiful, almost seemingly darker and warmer than when they weren't having sex, but equally as pretty. Every moan and gasp made it impossible to understand anything she'd try to say, but he noticed the way she was tracing into his hand, trying to discern what she was tracing before he realized it was, 'I love you' and in English. He murmured the words in English to her over and over again as he was starting to near his edge, muscles winding tight as heat built up hard.

She was happy that he’d been able to tell what she had traced. Hearing him actually say it made her heart soar. Cerise didn't know if it was because they were having sex or not, but when he had repeated it to her in English, his voice sounded even deeper to her. Either way, she knew this was the language that he’d grown up with, and that made it all the more intimate to her. His accent was its own little slice of Heaven. Now Marion was untangling his hand from her hair, sliding it down her body to press against her extremely sensitive bud, and a whole new layer of pleasure swept over her.

Vanderwood was trying to bring her over the edge with him, breaking their eye contact to kiss her now, passion overflowing for this woman who fit him so perfectly no matter how unlikely that had seemed. That familiar warm coiling feeling was becoming increasingly tense for the both of them. Cerise knew that she was beginning to be right on that edge. She had wrapped her arms around his neck, nails digging into his shoulders as it coiled tighter and tighter. Vanderwood let out a light groan at the pain of that, but he felt a thrill that he was pleasing her so thoroughly.

Cerise broke their kiss suddenly, attempting to warn him that she was right there, but she wasn't able to properly do so before the feeling let go all at once. She came hard as she clung to him and cried out his name. The orgasm that hit her felt more intense than anything she had experienced so far, and she wasn't sure if it was possibly because it had been a spell since they had really done anything or not. All she knew was that this felt amazing.

He’d known what she was trying to communicate to him, moving his hips more roughly to help her along. As her climax rolled over her, the way her body coiled tight around him made sure he went over the edge, too. The sound of him calling her name mixed with her cry of his. Vanderwood stilled his motions, trying to catch his breath as they entered the aftermath. He felt exhilarated from their lovemaking and nuzzled into her hair before he pulled away to lie next to her and pull her close.

She was still trying to catch her breath even as he was pulling her to him. Why was it that every time they had sex, she felt like she had just run a marathon? As Marion nuzzled into her hair, he mumbled softly, speaking in English to her still. "I love you, Cerise..." Smiling, she moved to place a kiss on his nose. "I love you too, Marion." Her own English wasn't what one would call perfect, but she knew enough to get around. Cerise could type in English arguably a lot better than speaking it, thanks to her accent. She hadn't really had to speak to someone in English before, but she was glad she was able to at least respond to him.

Cerise’s thick accent just made him smile more. Being close to her like this was everything he felt he’d ever needed. Vanderwood stroked her hair softly, his hand continuing down over her body to shape it before he bit his tongue softly and returned his hand to her hair. It would be best if he didn't get himself worked up again. Come to think of it, Cerise probably didn't even know he could go more than one round.

Were his hands wandering again? Before she could really finish the thought, his hands were stroking her face as she held his gaze, his thumb grazing over her lower lip lightly. "Your accent is pretty...Did I ever tell you how much I love the way you say my name? Or just how much I love you?" Oh, how he loved being cheesy right after sex. She had turned him into a cheese-master with her love, so he might as well let her have it. Cerise didn't seem to cringe about it like he did.

His compliment made her blush. She wasn't aware that she was saying his name any certain type of way, but apparently, he liked whatever way she was saying it. Cerise grinned and took his hand, kissing his thumb. "I'm not sure...you didn't say it quite enough times before. I might need to hear you say it a few more times~" Her tone was teasing, and she finished off with a giggle, nuzzling into him. She would always love his cheesiness. At first glance, she wouldn't have thought he was even capable of words like that.

The way she was teasing him made him blush like only she could do to him. But if she wanted him to say it, he would say it. "I love you, more than I could ever explain. The way you look at me, the way you smile, how beautiful you are..." He traced along her jawline before moving down to stroke her neck. She hadn't been expecting him to actually take her seriously. It made her chest feel warm and her heart skip a beat nonetheless. Cerise could tell that he really meant these things, that he wasn't saying them just because he could. They came from a place deep inside of himself. How could someone be so sweet and loving yet have had such a rough start? He'd been through so much he hadn't deserved, so she _took just a little_ pride in being something bright and happy in his life. She was happy that she could help him learn how to be a normal person.

It seemed like he wasn’t quite done even. "But more than all those things...I love the person you are...as annoying as she can be. She has me wrapped around her little finger, and I can't ever let that person go...you go..." Those were a lot of cheesy sentences, but he just couldn't help it. Vanderwood nuzzled her nose lightly before he gave her a slow and languid kiss, trusting his actions a little more than his words in getting the point across. She couldn't help but to smile into their kiss, feeling like she was on cloud nine with their recent lovemaking and his heartfelt words to her. Cerise felt like she could lose herself in it. It was slow and loving and just perfect. He himself wasn't anywhere near perfect, but he was perfect to her.

Vanderwood could feel himself getting worked up again, a product of how good the last round had been and the dry spell they'd had. Now his hand was wandering again, tracing down her back and over her side and hip. Maybe she wouldn't notice? Although, he really wouldn't mind if she did. Cerise had more than noticed, wondering what exactly he was up to before she broke their kiss, because she couldn't help giggling. He had brushed over a place where she was a bit ticklish, making her squirm a little. "Looks like someone didn't get enough the first time, huh~?" Her teasing was intermingled with laughter. “I don't blame you, I've been told that I'm beautiful and impossible to let go, you know?" Cerise gave him a quick kiss and grinned, continuing. "I even have this one really gorgeous guy wrapped around my little finger~"

Vanderwood couldn't help but chuckle as he lightly traced little designs over her thigh. "Someone has been telling you those kinds of things? Who do I need to beat up?" He gave his own little tease back as he nuzzled her nose and feathered a few kisses along her jaw down to her neck. Cerise loved him teasing back at her. He _did_ have a sense of humor; it was just normally a little strange, but she enjoyed it either way. "You can't beat him up, I love him~" His actions seemed completely innocent to her, giggles excaping her until his next sentence made her wake up to reality.

"If you love him...I'll have to make you love me more. If you give me just another couple minutes or so, I could go again...nice and slow and show you what I can't tell you with words." Cheesy and smooth at the same time. That was a weird thing to him. His face was heating up with a blush as he pressed kisses to the marks he'd left on her neck and shoulder earlier, pulling back to make eye contact with her just to make sure she was on board with it. No need to get himself going completely again if she wasn't up for it. It felt good to be able to say that he could stop if she needed him to.

Cerise's face heated up to match his as he pressed kisses to the marks he had made before. That…was a thing? He could even do that? It would be a lie if she said she wasn't interested in doing it again, though, no doubt she was going to be really exhausted afterwards. "You're...able to do that?" He was watching her as she talked, making her already self-conscious before he snorted the way he always did when he was amuse. She blinked and then looked away from his gaze, turning even more red. "Okay...I haven't lost that feeling yet anyway...I'm still kinda..." Cerise caught herself before she could finish that sentence.

Wow. At least that hadn't slipped through her filter. "What I mean is, yeah. I'd love to." Smooth recovery! Marion really looked amused with her now, and she felt pretty silly. At least it was only with him. “Yeah...I can go a few rounds. I just...need a little more time with you." Her response came in her regular sing-song tone even though she felt ridiculously flustered. "We have all the time in the world, mon amour." That was much better, as much as it didn’t make her feel any less embarrassed, but as he accepted her answer, she found that she was still going to be at a loss. He was continuing his kissing of the marks he'd left on her body, setting off that familiar fire under her skin wherever his lips made contact.

When he got to the marks on her breasts he lightly nipped those before he teased over one of her nipples with his thumb, first tracing and then rolling over it in light circles. She noticed he was really taking his time with this, but she wasn’t complaining. Cerise squirmed lightly underneath him at the touch. Being close to him like this was like a dream, and she enjoyed their time together whether it was when they were being intimate or just doing sometime simple like sitting and watching television.

Now he moved to kiss her in that same slow and languid fashion he’d been travelling over her body with. Her heart already felt like it was going to try and beat out of her chest again, his finger continuing to trace over her sensitive nipple. She couldn't really control the small moans that escaped against their kiss as she used her own hands to slowly trace over his body, admiring every part and tracing over the numerous dents and raised areas on his skin caused by the scars he'd received over his lifetime.

He loved her sounds, probably more than a person should, but he couldn't help it. Her touches to his body had his skin heating and tingling under her fingertips. This was something he was fully intending to enjoy. With this next round, he had promised to show her how he felt, so that was exactly what he was going to do. Vanderwood stopped teasing at her nipple in favor of moving to stroke her cheek, managing to remember to breathe thanks to the languid pace of their kiss. Now he grinded against her leg with his new erection. It wasn't as ridiculously hard as the first one had been, but he was certainly ready to go.

Upon feeling him grind against her leg, Cerise moved her knee so that it pressed up against him, giving him even more delightful friction. Despite the fact that Cerise had remembered to breathe during their kiss, she still found herself breathless when he broke away. It was difficult trying to catch her breath as he feathered kisses along her jawline. "You're beautiful Cerise....so beautiful, and all mine." Cerise could feel something stirring within her at the last part of his praise, the way it had seemed darker and more intense. That hint of possessiveness was undeniably sexy coming from him. "All yours, now and always. Just like you're mine."

He pulled back to catch her eyes with his as his hand traveled down her body all over again. "I love you, shortcake...and I'm going to show you just how much for the rest of our lives." Blushing, she brought her hand to stroke his hair as she held his gaze. "I love you, too, and...I can't wait." Vanderwood felt like Cerise knew just how to make his heart go crazy and melt at the same time. "Ma moitié."

Thanks to the earlier round, he wasn’t nearly as impatient as he normally felt. That was just making this more enjoyable. He moved to grind against her entrance, testing her readiness for him in part and enjoying the way it teased them both. Vanderwood was feeling the light sting of it being his second round, too, but it wasn't so bad; his pain tolerance was high anyway. He lightly pressed a kiss to her lips before stroking her hair back away from her eyes. "Are you ready?" She hopefully had the stamina for this.

After their short kiss, Cerise gave him a nuzzle. "More than ready~" The only difference she noticed now that they were trying again was that she was significantly more sensitive, biting at her lip as he ground against her more. If she felt more sensitive with just the teasing, she could only imagine what would come next. Cerise put her arms around his neck and gave his nose a little kiss. God, she loved this perfectly imperfect man, and she couldn't wait to spend the rest of her life with him.

The little kiss to his nose made him blush like an idiot. Maybe he _was_ an idiot, but he was so happy here with her. She made him this happy, and for her love he would forever be grateful. Seeing him blush only made Cerise blush harder. It was probably so ridiculous that they would blush at such a small sign of affection when they were both completely nude in each other's arms. Cerise chalked it down to that just being the way things were when you were so in love with someone.

Vanderwood moved to press inside of her, going a little slower, not because she really needed to adjust, but to watch and enjoy the way she reacted. He lightly winced at the sting of pain he felt before he could ignore it. Once he was as far as he could go, Vanderwood started a slower pace, paying attention to the way things felt on a whole new level. Sure, he'd thought the times they'd had sex up until now were making love, but this was even more intense. They were sharing their bodies with each other in a way that just further illustrated their trust and appreciation for one another.

Cerise was biting her lip hard, not wanting to ruin the moment by making too many unnecessary noises as she clung to him, adjusting to the heightened sensitivity. The way things were now, it felt so much more different...and not just because it was the second round or because she was more sensitive. There was a new kind of intimacy between them which she couldn’t quite place.

He nuzzled into her neck as he moved, going for deeper strokes rather than faster, wanting to feel her completely. Cerise nuzzled into his hair, taking in his intoxicating scent. It was like she was more _aware_ of him. She couldn't exactly explain it in words. With her legs now firmly wrapped around him, it felt to her like their bodies were in a perfect sync. This was definitely more than sex; it was something a lot more intimate than that...a little like baring their souls.

Vanderwood felt like he couldn't get enough of her, moaning soft and low against her neck as he moved. Everything about this was a far deeper experience than he'd ever had, and he couldn't imagine a better person to do this with. There was and would be no one else. Cerise was his one and only. He couldn't stop holding her, couldn't stop mumbling her name. It felt almost like they were one and the same at this point.

This was ecstasy. Cerise was enjoying every second of their time together. Every movement felt meaningful and completely euphoric. They would probably remember this day for a long time. How long had it been? She didn't really know. Time was a little lost on her, but she did know that this was the longest they had been together. It was both welcomed and disappointing as the heated feeling came back, telling her she was getting closer. If she could stop time, that'd be great. As cute as she was, there was no charming father time into getting what she wanted.

As with every additional round, it was taking Vanderwood just a little longer to get to the end. Every moment was bliss. From the way she was wrapped around him to the sounds of their voices filling the room, this was right in every way. The build was coming slowly but surely, but he wasn't pushing it, simply enjoying her and this moment for what it was. "Mon amour..." He almost wanted it to last forever, but that's not how life worked. When it finally felt like the fire was building high in his body, he found her lips with his, his tongue pushing its way into her mouth.

"Marion..." his name was almost a whisper on her lips as she caught his eyes for a moment before he was kissing her, effectively stealing her breath away. She responded to his kiss deeply and enthusiastically, pushing her own tongue up against his and raking it against his teeth. Cerise still had no clue what any of it had to do with the French, but she did know she was getting kind of good at it thanks to him. More than that, she felt like she was growing more as a person thanks to his help.

Her legs around him tightened, and she found herself clinging more. Just a tiny bit more and she would reach her limit. She didn't bother telling him this time; he always seemed to know anyway. Instead, she broke their kiss, placing another urgent but gentle kiss to his shoulder before she bit down hard, although not enough to cause him any serious pain. Cerise wanted to leave her mark on him, a reminder of the time they had just shared together for days to come.

Vanderwood had intended to stroke her cheek as they kissed, but then she’d broken away. He didn't really have time to process what she was doing before she was biting him, making a grunt escape him. His hand went to the back of her head to hold her there, wanting the mark she was leaving. Further evidence of whom he belonged to and this moment in time. And then he couldn't hold it in any longer, letting the orgasm wash over him, that sting of the second round noticeable again. He didn't care at all.

His moves didn’t slow, continuing on just enough to have her muscles tightening around him as she was hit with her own climax. She was a moaning mess, her face completely buried in his neck. Vanderwood’s vision seemed to be blurring at the edges as he stopped to breathe, relaxing his grip on her and then staying where he was, soaking in the vision of her, the way he felt, this moment. Life couldn't possibly be this good could it? But the sting on his shoulder told him he wasn't dreaming.

"I love you, Cerise..." His voice croaked up, a lump in his throat. Was he starting to cry? Cerise pulled back to search his eyes at the tone of his voice, her own widening when she realized that he seemed to be on the verge of crying. Her hand found his cheek, a smile forming. She was starting to get emotional, too, and her tears started well up in her own eyes. "I love you, too, Marion. So so so much."

Marion had snorted, seemingly at himself before snuggling into her, and she stroked his hair. Cerise was so proud of him. He'd been through so much, had so much damage and baggage, but he was pulling through. He was so much healthier now than when she had first met him. She couldn't help but to be emotional. Yep, and now she was fully crying. Cerise wasn't sad or anything, just incredibly happy. Happy for him, for the life they would soon share, for the future and whatever it held. What would their next round of challenges be like?

Check out my website. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	24. Cut It Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood encounters a friend of Cerise's he'd rather she'd never met and Cerise comes up with a brilliant idea involving scissors.

***Due to some technical difficulties, I'm only now able to get Tagged back up to date on my ao3. Sorry y'all, but here's to getting back on track! ~Let's Connect! FFC***

The week flew by much quicker than he would have liked, and now he was spending time at Seven’s again. There was really no reason for him to be with the kid anymore, as he no longer had to monitor his work to keep the both of them from being killed, and he felt a little underfoot as Seven…Saeyoung…was helping his twin brother recover. Maybe it was about time he moved out again? Especially since he and Cerise were getting married. It wasn’t just because he couldn’t bear to be apart from her because he worried she was going to get herself into some sort of trouble. Okay, so maybe it was that a little bit.

Vanderwood snorted at himself and opened his phone as he was lying on the bed, sending her a quick selfie, feeling a little like an idiot doing it still, but knowing that she liked it. He also just loved to get hers back. Now he was scrolling through Fakebook. Wait…who was posting on her wall besides Cerise? Vanderwood groaned as he read the status. `We should get together and do this again sometime.` It was that one annoying rich boy with the stupid hair again.

His eyebrow twitched, and then he opened the video. Dancing…Cerise was an amazing dancer, but his eyebrow apparently was, too. This kid, whoever he was, was way too physically close to _his_ Cerise. It seemed like the video was a few years old, but Vanderwood didn’t like it. He posted in the comments, that little jealous monster in his chest. `Should make a video of us together instead.`

He almost wrote that he was far more attractive, which was true. Vanderwood didn’t have idiot hair, and he didn’t look like a teenager, but that was a little too douchey to point out in public. No matter how true it was. He grunted and sent Cerise another text. `I’ll be over for breakfast tomorrow. Who’s Fortun?` Vanderwood didn’t want it to seem like he was judging her, but at this point he genuinely needed to know. She hadn’t dated anyone other than that one when she was in grade school, so whoever this idiot was, he hadn’t heard much about him.

***

With Marion out of the house, Cerise had decided to run around town by herself the past week. Not that he didn’t _let_ her go out without him when he was there, but he was such a worry-wort. Cerise heard her phone ping and checked it to see that he had sent her a selfie. Each time he did it, it made her extremely giddy, because she knew that he didn’t particularly _like_ taking them…or having his picture taken at all, really. Yet, he still did it, because he knew it made her happy. It was a good thing she took a pre-emptive selfie before she left the house that she hadn’t posted yet.

She sent that selfie back along with a ton of heart emojis. Normally, she wouldn’t try to lie to him or hide the fact that she had gone out, but she wanted to get him something as a surprise and she _couldn’t_ do that if he was looming over her. Probably, if she would have sent a selfie of her out and about, she had no doubt he would worry over it, find out where she was, and be there in an instant. It wasn’t like she was going to be shanked or kidnapped on the street or anything. Cerise shook her head. He was a little ridiculous sometimes, but she still loved him.

Her phone was going off again, but she was used to receiving multiple notifications at once. It was a good thing she had a different ringtone for her texts. She had just entered a store when her phone went off again. “…Fortun?” Why was he asking about Fortun? How did he even _know_ Fortun? He had probably seen him commenting on something. Cerise stopped to send back a quick text, making sure to stand out of the way as she did so. God, she hated when people stopped in the middle of somewhere to text. `1 of my best friends from home. Can’t w8 2 c u~ ( ˘ ³˘)♥ ` With that sent, she began wandering around the store in search of the perfect something.

***

His phone pinged. One of her best friends? The dancing eyebrow returned. One of her best friends was a flirty male? Okay, so he was probably being ridiculous, but he’d come to accept that he was possessive at this point. `Me either. I’ll miss you until then.` Eventually, this Fortun guy would just have to figure out that Cerise was _beyond_ taken. Vanderwood got back on Fakebook only to more irritation. Cerise must be busy if she hadn’t seen any of this yet. Fortun had typed back `You haven’t danced with your fiancée yet? Funny. I’ve danced with her a lot.` There were more videos linked now as well.

`I was too busy dating her and getting engaged. Sorry.` What was it this guy wanted other than to be annoying? Vanderwood bit his tongue and just continued scrolling only to a few minutes later see another thing from Fortun on his fiancées wall – an outfit of sorts. He had to admit it would look great on her, but he didn’t like Fortun asking her address to send it to her. Cerise wasn’t responding to any of it right now, which made him wonder what she was up to.

Maybe he was just paranoid, but he got the feeling that she wasn’t in the house. Granted, it wasn’t like she wasn’t _allowed_ to be out of the house, but he was anxious wondering what she was doing. `Your friend seems particularly friendly today. What are you up to shortcake?` That wasn’t too horribly anxious or overbearing…nor too descriptive on how much he wanted to smack her little friend upside the head. She had to be home and probably just busy with something, based on the cute selfie she’d sent him back. Vanderwood grumbled at himself. He was just being all around irritable.

***

It wasn’t long before she found something that just spoke to her. Cerise carried the item around until she came across a kiosk in the store. It was some kind of quick photo developer. She read the instructions to find out that it operated via Bluetooth once a fee was paid. Her eyes lit up. That would be _perfect_. She began to look through her gallery to decide what she wanted when her phone pinged again.

Cerise read the message and laughed a little. `Yeah, he’s pretty nice. 


	25. Happiest Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hings have been so soft and quiet – Vanderwood struggling with his recovery but feeling like he’s got it under control. The lack of communication over this issue is about to bite both him and Cerise in the ass.

***Back up to date! ~Let's Connect! FFC***

Vanderwood hadn’t been looking forward to his birthday. When he’d first told Cerise about it, she’d obviously been far more into it than he was. So, okay, maybe he was a _little_ excited – just because he’d get to spend it with her, but when they went to bed that night he’d had a sneaking suspicion she had more plans than he wasn’t ready for. This time of year wasn’t a good time for him at all. If he could sleep the next week away, that would be heaven. That probably wasn’t going to happen, but hopefully Cerise would make it a little easier, or at least dull the pain of Christmas somewhat.

Cerise had been counting down the days. She absolutely _loved_ holidays, and you better believe she considered her fiancé’s birthday a holiday. So far, she had put up a few decorations that Marion really hadn’t reacted to, but she didn’t want to overdo it that year with it being the first time they would spend his birthday together.

The night before, Cerise had set her alarm to vibrate once it hit 11:58 pm – hiding a confetti cannon under her side of the bed for when it hit midnight, _AKA his birthday_. She was actually really surprised he hadn’t noticed that she had gotten it. Then again, she made sure to be _super_ sneaky about it. Marion would see that she totally did _not_ forget his special day. Cerise had also set for a cake to be delivered later that day – since she couldn’t really go out and get it, seeing as he would know what she was up to. Thank goodness for internet shopping.

When Cerise finally woke up, it was actually a few minutes before her alarm would go off. Perfect! Now she didn’t have to risk the vibration waking him up prematurely. Honey-colored eyes glanced towards his face. Good, he was still asleep. If she moved too much, she would most likely wake him. She had to time this _perfectly_. When the clock hit 11:58, it was the moment of truth. As softly as she could, she removed the oversized confetti cannon from under the bed. 11:59 now. “Hey, Mariooo~ooon~” Her voice was a sing-song whisper as she was poking at his face. Marion grumbled, something along the lines of, “What is it, mon amour?” That was awake enough for her.

Now it was 12:00am, officially December 23rd – officially his birthday. Cerise took that chance to unceremoniously pounce on him, pulling the string trigger to her cannon – which launched small paper bits and glitter _everywhere_. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” She squealed – looking really excited and proud of herself. On top of everything, her phone began to play some strange reggae version of the birthday song. All Cerise knew was that it was in English, and it sounded catchy. Truly a celebration song.

Oh, _bloody fucking Hell_! There was a rather loud popping sound, his fiancée pouncing on him, and it took him about ten seconds of gripping her to him protectively on instinct before he realized what the Hell was going on. It was lucky he had realized it was _her_ pouncing on him and not an attacker, because _he could have killed her_. His eyes searched the room and saw the now empty canon – its contents everywhere. There was confetti and _glitter,_ otherwise known as Satan’s bloody tears, _everywhere_.

“Cerise..” His eyebrow started up, dancing along to the birthday song as he let go of her slowly – his voice tight with anger. “Do _not_ jump on me when I’m half asleep. I could have hurt you.” Was he being a little harsh when she was just trying to be nice to him? Yeah…probably, but he was a former secret agent and could have accidentally harmed her for much less. He was being grumpy, but she wasn’t having it. “But you didn’t.” Yeah okay, so pouncing on a former secret again, probably not the best idea in retrospect. Still, _birthday_.

Bloody Hell. What time was it? His eyes found the digital clock, and that just made him all the more irritated. Great. No sleep for him. “Happy birthday to me…I’m older…yay…” Okay, so maybe there was a _little_ bit of happiness there. His fiancée’ had given him far more of a birthday greeting than he could ever remember having received before, and he was actually enjoying life lately.

Cerise could hear the dripping sarcasm in his voice after he had glanced at the clock. “Yes, yay! The most yay, because I’m sure glad you were born.” Why did she have to be so cute? She was glad he was born? Vanderwood snorted softly, but that little moment was short-lived. Though his eyebrow only slowed a little – his body relaxing only minutely, his voice at least sounded even. “Thank you, shortcake…Please go back to sleep.”

He needed to clean up; he _needed_ to clean up. Not because it was compulsory and otherwise there would be glitter in places no one needed glitter. She just giggled and nuzzled him. “You sleep, too. We can clean up later~ Besides, haven’t you always dreamed about laying in a bed of sparkles?” Cerise loved glitter. She loved anything shiny and cute, really. There was confetti and glitter _all over her_ – even embedded in her hair. Flecks of glitter could be seen on her skin and clothes. Marion fared no better. They both looked like a magical rainbow fairy had puked its glorious sparkles all over them. “A little glitter never hurt anyone, Marion.” Cerise shook her hair a little, sending more glitter flying about.

She wanted him to sleep in _this_? No fucking way. If he found even a single spot of glitter near his nether regions, he was going to put his fist through something. He wasn’t about to let this mess sit until morning – no matter how excited or adorable she was. “I would rather sleep on a bed of nails. I can’t sleep now that I’m up anyway. You know that.” He did his best to disentangle himself from her, nearly an attempt to run away as she was shaking out her hair.

When he pushed his bangs back as he was sitting on the edge of the bed, glitter fell into the lap of his pajama pants. His eyebrow was trying to escape his forehead now – practically flying away. “I need a shower, and then I’m cleaning.” So, great, he was 29. That was older than he’d thought he would make it to. It was certainly older than he’d _wanted_ to make it to, but it also meant Christmas – which meant memories, which meant pain. All of that just made the glitter and confetti that was covering him more irritating.

Was he even breathing anymore? His chest felt tight. He headed off towards the bathroom as Cerise huffed – rolling back onto her side of the bed. “Don’t be such a grumpy face, Marion.” The glance he got of himself in the mirror made his eyebrow twitch even more. There was a part of his hair that was practically pink thanks to all those damn sparkles. This was it. He was going to die today. Just spontaneously combust.

She watched him as he escaped to the bathroom. Maybe after a shower, he would get tired again. Well…at least he’d remember this birthday, right? Sure, he looked a little irritated, but it was probably just because she woke him up so early. Once he was out of sight, Cerise began to smack random places on their bad, watching as the glitter flew up and fell back down. There was _so much_ , and she couldn’t help but giggle.

He couldn’t be angry with her when she’d put in this much effort. All she wanted to do was make sure he didn’t have another painful birthday alone. At least they had the entire rest of the day. Marion would probably tire himself out sooner or later if the shower didn’t relax him. Letting out a yawn, Cerise curled up in the middle of the bed and fell back asleep – cuddling on the pillow that she had given him earlier in the month. Hopefully, he liked what she had in store for the rest of the day.

***

The shower had only helped in relaxing him so much. At least his hair wasn’t pink anymore, but his pajama pants…Yeah, it would take way too many washes to get the sparkles out of that, so at this point he was pretty Hell-bent on throwing those away. Vanderwood dried off and peeked out into the room. Good – she was asleep. He padded out and grabbed a different pair, getting those on quick and quiet before he realized. Not good – she was asleep. How was he going to clean this up with her asleep? He couldn’t use the vacuum.

Vanderwood wanted to smack his head into the wall a few times, but instead he got the broom and dust pan – getting everything that he could. Fun fact, he was going to need a new broom and dust pan. He snorted before looking at the bed. So many sparkles. Now he just felt sick and exhausted on a different level. Vanderwood bit his tongue as he watched Cerise sleep. All the pillows were covered in sparkles, too. He knew for a fact without the sound of her breathing to comfort him it was going to take him a lot longer to sleep, but without her scent on a pillow, yeah. There would be no sleep until he passed out from exhaustion.

He sighed and left the room, stretching out on the couch and staring up at the ceiling. Vanderwood reached for his phone on the coffee table – habit making him think it was the nightstand. Actually. It was probably better he didn’t have it on him, not today. Not that he thought he was going to call anyone. The thought made him want to hurl…cheat on Cerise? No way…but it was such an old habit at this point, especially during this season, that it was just better this way. He couldn’t remember falling asleep – just the constant rolling over and changing positions.

***

Cerise woke up on her own much later. Marion hadn’t woken her up? She looked around to see that he wasn’t in bed with her and frowned. Where was he? And Jesus, was she cold. Cerise threw her feet over the bed, grabbed some cute clothes, and padded into the bathroom. He was probably off doing something in the house. Right now what she needed was a warm shower to chase the chill away. As she got ready to hop in, she noticed glitter falling everywhere. Oh, right. The confetti cannon. The memory of earlier that morning made her laugh. Obviously, she’d have to make sure to wash her hair extra well that morning…which would take forever.

She was all clean and glitter free within an hour and a half. Her eyes scanned the area as she stepped into the living room, and she still didn’t see her fiancé. “Where did you go?” It wasn’t until she got closer to the couch that she saw him sleeping there. Honestly, it made her a little sad. Why hadn’t he slept in the bed with her? And holy crap…was she actually awake before him? Cerise made her way over to him, kneeling beside the couch. Marion was such a beautiful man, especially when he slept. Usually, she was asleep before him, and he was awake before her. She didn’t get much time to ever admire his sleeping form. “Hey, Marion.” Her voice was a soft whisper as she nuzzled him. “Wake up, birthday boy~”

He startled awake at the nuzzle, but at least it wasn’t like this morning. Bloody Hell, he was tired. So, he _had_ slept and not just rolled over all night. That was good, although he couldn’t be sure how much sleep he’d ended up getting. “Hey, Cerise…I’m awake.” Her hair was wet. That meant she’d had a shower – which meant he could clean the bedroom. Vanderwood pushed himself up on the couch, and with as tired as he was – it seemed to take effort. That’s when he just felt…old.

How had he even made it past 25? He had been sure he would die at 25, or right around there. But no, when he’d turned 25 he’d just spent virtually an entire month seeing Crystal every day instead of being dead. Might as well have been being dead. Vanderwood sighed and looked at his fiancée. At least she was having fun with today – even if it meant cleaning up after her. She was the one beautiful thing in his life, and he really was grateful that she cared, deep down.

It was just that it was difficult. He _wanted_ to have a good day; he really did…so he sure as Hell wasn’t about to ruin whatever she had planned and dump his feelings on her. That would probably just make her cry anyway. He reached for his phone out of habit again, but it wasn’t there, _of course_. “What time is it?” His stomach felt like it was crumbling in on itself, because he was so damn hungry.

“It’s eleven thirty. You really slept in today~” He deserved to sleep in every now and again, and what more perfect day to do so than his birthday? Cerise gave him a look when she audibly heard his stomach growl. “Hungry?” She stood up with a smile on her face. “It’s your birthday, so I can make us something! I’ll be back in a jiffy!” Before he had a chance to protest, she was gone. Cerise knew that she didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in Hell _actually_ cooking, so she had preemptively bought an assortment of pre-cut fruits. Instant oatmeal was pretty easy, too. All she had to do was add hot water.

Okay…so she was cooking. Vanderwood looked out into the kitchen after her, and from what he was seeing, she wasn’t trying to make anything overly ambitious. Maybe he could relax a little. If only he could. He grumbled and pushed out of the couch, going into the bedroom. After quickly taking care of that glitter problem that was the bed, he returned to the couch – feeling at least a little better with the sheets and pillows in the wash. He would still need to vacuum, but with as hungry as he was – eating came first.

She grinned widely as things came together perfectly. Cerise arranged the fruit on a plate around the bowl of instant oatmeal – which she added cinnamon to, like any sane person would do. Now, for the finishing touch. She took out a pack of sparklers and put the ends of them into the oatmeal bowl. _That_ should be exciting and memorable, right? The package had said not to light them indoors, but Cerise took that as more of a suggestion than anything as she took a match and lit the sparklers up before making her way with the food to where her husband-to-be was. “Surprise!” Who didn’t like fireworks?

He was rubbing his face when she came back into the room, and he pulled his hands away. “Cerise!” His eyebrow was twitching again, and he grabbed the sparklers. Cerise frowned as he blew out the sparklers so fast without admiring them.  “Are you trying to light the house on fire again?” He did have a point. It _could_ have sparked a fire if she wasn’t careful, but luckily, she was – or so _she_ thought.

Now that the danger was gone, chestnut-brown eyes fell on what she’d brought him. Just as Cerise was about to open her mouth to argue, he cut her off. “Oh…shortcake…that’s just great…” Had his heart melted in a second? “Thank you…” There was still a lot of irritation, but she was really trying. His praise caused a blush to build on Cerise’s face. “You’re welcome! I’m not a good cook by any means and couldn’t do anything amazing, but…I hope you enjoy it all the same!”

As he started on the food, Cerise ran back to the kitchen to grab something for herself, too – returning to sit down next to him on the couch. She munched on her portion happily, starting a ‘birthday playlist’ that she had made. It was the perfect mix of songs that would hopefully last all day! Most of them were very festive, so it was nice to eat breakfast with such a cheery atmosphere. “Hope you’re enjoying your day so far~” The day hadn’t really even begun; she was just _too excited_.

“Um…as much as I can, so far.” Maybe that had been meant to be a rhetorical comment. Vanderwood wasn’t sure. It was like his tension and exhaustion were making him even more awkward than usual. He ate in silence, the music far livelier than he was. It was nice though, having someone who cared again. With Caleb they’d just sat in the living room and watched TV. They never tried to do birthdays or Christmas. Caleb had grown up without it anyway, and Vanderwood…the memory of sitting there waiting for his mother to come home, then the tree, his father and his friends.

His face became a dark mask as he grabbed the dirty dishes that Cerise seemed done with and heading out of the room. “I’ll just wash up, then I’ll vacuum.” He was being so curt. It wasn’t fair to her; it _really_ wasn’t. Vanderwood grabbed a hair tie and put his hair up – running his fingers over his serial number per the usual before he turned the sink faucet on.

Cerise stayed silent as she watched him. He had warned her that he might not be in the best of moods – which he certainly wasn’t`, but that only meant that she needed to try harder, right? She was going to make this memorable and fun for him no matter what. It looked like it was going to be a little harder than she’d even thought. As he worked on washing their dishes, Cerise quickly darted back to her room and pulled out a massive amount of decorations from under the bed. She’d have to be quick to decorate while he vacuumed if she wanted to surprise him.

After grabbing all the stuff and stashing it in the guest bedroom, she waited until he began making his way to the room to vacuum. Perfect. With an overabundance of energy, she put the mess of decorations up: streamers, balloons, colorful tableware. Now all that was left was the cake. Cerise checked her phone. It was set to be delivered any time now. She went to peek out the window, and sure enough – there it was. As quietly as she could, she opened the door and brought it in – thanking the delivery driver. The sound of the vacuum would probably drown out anything she had been doing, thankfully.

She set the cake down on the table and opened the box. It was a relatively small cake, because she knew that he wasn’t a fan of sugary things – especially in large quantities. Cerise had given the baker specific instructions to make the cake as healthy as she could without sacrificing the festivity of it all, and she had to say…it looked pretty darn good. All she had left was the presents she had gotten for him – deciding to buy him things he could _use_ instead of something that would just sit out forever and a day.

Mostly, she’d bought him clothes she thought he would like, coordinating the outfits carefully. It was hard to find his size, but she had somehow managed – while avoiding anything that he might think was too restricting. After everything was set up and the apartment looked all sorts of bright and colorful, she snapped a picture with her phone before sitting down on the couch to wait for him to emerge from his vacuuming. Boy would he be surprised! And there wasn’t even fire or glitter involved!

***

The vacuum hurt his ears. He should have had his ears looked at a long time ago, but going to a doctor wasn’t something he was particularly interested in. Vanderwood finished up and looked around the room. He wasn’t sure how he’d managed it, but it was clean. No glitter. Praise whatever God fucking existed. Vanderwood would have crawled around with strips of tape if he had to, but that had thankfully been unnecessary. He turned off the vacuum and went to put it away, getting a good full view of vibrancy as he stepped out of the bedroom.

“What the fuck…when? Oh.” Vanderwood stared at the colorful mess. This was too much for him right then, but that wasn’t just something he could say out loud. So, what _should_ he say? At least nothing was going to light on fire, and there wasn’t any glitter, but he was still going to have to be the one to clean up, wasn’t he? He preemptively put a hand to his eyebrow. It was too vibrant and lively for his taste, but…Cerise had clearly tried so hard. It wasn’t like he could just be a douche over it. “This is…Wow, Cerise.” Okay, that wasn’t too horrible, because it really was wow.

He approached her on the couch and caught sight of the cake, glancing over that to see gifts. She’d really gone all out. Vanderwood felt a little choke in his throat. No one ever gave a shit like this. Least of all his parents. Yeah, that was making him both happy _and_ making his chest sting with pain – his muscles tensing up. You weren’t supposed to finally find someone who cared at 29…or apparently just _he_ was.

She had been excited as he first got a glimpse, but now she was scrunching her nose at his… _praise_? Marion had seemed to be getting choked up for just a second, but now things seemed just as quickly to be getting bad again. Cerise looked concerned. This was somehow having the opposite effect on him, and she wasn’t sure why. Was she not doing enough? Did she need to try harder? She bit her lip. _Think, think_ …Cerise still had a little trouble reading him completely when he was like this.

Maybe talking about Christmas festivities would cheer him up? Their first Christmas together…all snuggled up together on Christmas eve, drinking warm drinks. That sounded like a dream to her. “Hey Marion…erm…” Cerise put a smile on her face. She needed to stay positive for him, show him a smile. “Cheer up!” As she patted him enthusiastically, she widened her smile. “Christmas is just around the corner, you know? It can only get better from here. Ooh! ” She started to bounce around on her feet all excitedly, taking his hand into hers. “I can totally get out the Christmas decorations tonight aaaaand…tomorrow we can put up the tree together! I have all sorts of cute ornaments just waiting to be used~”

Cerise realized she was babbling and laughed nervously before she looked up to him, and…he didn’t look too enthused. In fact, he wasn’t reacting at all? “Hey…” There was a hint of concern in her voice. Was he closing himself off? That’s probably something he normally did around his birthday, or so she thought. She could only imagine how lonely he had been. “Marion…I’m here now, you know? You’re not alone anymore…You don’t have to shut down,” Cerise gave him a small smile and patted his arm again, trying to comfort him. “Talk to me…how can I make this better?”

Vanderwood loved her – he really did, but she was digging him into a pit of pain. It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know any better. In fact, she was just trying to help. He didn’t feel angry; he didn’t feel sad, but that was only because he was shutting himself off from the thoughts that swirled around in his head. It was all too much. Vanderwood already felt like he was so tense – as though someone were trying to break a pencil with their bare hands. He realized she was saying his name, patting his arm, but nothing she was saying was reaching his ears.

All he could hear was the sound of his heart going way too fast. The next thing he knew, she was under him – pinned down onto the couch with her hands above her head. Vanderwood blinked, taking it in before he let go, the rush of guilt like a dam breaking for the second time in his life. He hadn’t realized how close he was to breaking, how much he needed his body to relax, how much he wanted… “Get away from me.” His voice was brusque and dark, and he looked towards the ground as he scrambled away from her to the other side of the couch. He hadn’t meant for it to sound so terrible, but he couldn’t make the words come to say anything better. Vanderwood couldn’t be around her right now. He’d pinned his fiancée to the bloody couch. His fists balled up, and he wanted to put them through something – clenching them so tightly that he was shaking.

It had all happened so fast. Marion had grabbed her wrists hard, causing her to yelp out in pain before he’d pushed her down beneath him. He was off of her again, but her eyes were still wide with fear as tears began to pool in the corners. Cerise was scared – terrified, and the person she loved the most was the cause of it. He was supposed to be getting better; she was helping him get better, so why was this happening? Why now? Had she not tried hard enough?

She began to rub her wrists. _They hurt so bad._ The cheery music playing in the background was a stark contrast to the current situation. There was an explanation…there _had_ to be an explanation. She hadn’t gotten the chance to say anything, ask him why before he was telling her to get away. The tears finally spilled over, rolling over her cheeks silently as she quickly ran to her room, slamming the door behind her. When she was in the safety of her room, she let herself cry into the first pillow she could grab. She had only wanted him to feel better, share his feelings with her. Cerise wanted to make happy memories with the man she loved to the moon and back. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

How much time had passed? An hour? Two? She didn’t know; she’d been too lost in thought. Eventually, she had come to the harsh conclusion that nothing she could do was going to heal him completely. She was nothing but a temporary reprieve from the downward spiral that was his life. Cerise loved him – loved him so much it hurt, but she couldn’t help him. He’d come so far, but there was only so much she could do for him. Just loving him couldn’t make him better, and she wasn’t about to sleep with him just to make him feel better. That would only contribute to the problem.

Cerise wasn’t going to be that person for him. He didn’t need _her_ ; he just needed his fix. That’s how it would always be. Nothing she did, no matter how much effort she put in, no matter how much she cared – it wasn’t going to fix him. She was nothing more than a silly little girl who cared too much for her own good. Cerise eyed her ring, the ‘proof’ that they were promising their lives to each other. The promise of a better, brighter future. Psh, yeah right. Someone was going to come along. They were going to be able to make him happy – do what needed to be done so he could heal. It just wasn’t going to be her.

She slid the ring off her finger and left it on the bed, heading towards the window. Cerise didn’t even bother to grab her phone; she honestly just didn’t care. All she knew was that she needed to get away. She’d snuck out more times than she could count. This would be easy. He wanted her to go away? Fine. She would. _Vanderwood_ wouldn’t have to worry about her ever again.

If Vanderwood wanted to be alone and miserable so badly, she wasn’t about to stop him or get dragged down into it. She was going to live her life – whether he was a part of it or not. As soon as she was able, she would find the next flight back to France. Right now, she needed to breathe and get out – away from it all. _Away from him_. Cerise carefully slid the window open and slipped out into the cool winter air.

***

How long had he been sitting there since the door slammed? He was breathing too hard, a ragged sound. What had he done? Vanderwood bit his tongue and tasted blood, but at least now he could release his hands. His mind flitted to the image of her beneath him – the fear, the pain, the tears. He’d done that.

Vanderwood felt crushed. His heart felt like it had crumbled. Cerise. What he needed was to calm down. He needed to relax, and then he could…would…What? How could he even make up for what he’d just done? He’d have to tell her everything. Why? Bloody Hell – he’d thought he had been doing so well. Now he’d just snapped. He hadn’t been paying attention – hadn’t been watching his behavior. Well, apparently, he wasn’t as well as he’d thought he was.

The sun was low in the sky by the time he got up off the couch, moving slowly, feeling like the lowest scum of the Earth. Really, that was all he’d ever been anyway, right? Vanderwood internally slapped himself. If he was going to get better, he was going to have to stop thinking like that. Right now, he needed to make sure he and Cerise got dinner – then make sure she was alright, and…hopefully, explain…If she would want to hear it.

He’d managed to tune out the music until now but turned it off as soon as he realized it was still going. The silence was more deafening than the sound had been. The only thing he could think while he was cooking was that she was probably scared of him now. It was either that, or she just wanted nothing to do with him. He kept trying to shove those thoughts away, but he could only do so much.

Once he’d made dinner, he went to her door, knocking softly. No answer. “Cerise…you need to eat.” Not a sound. Now anxiety swept up on him, and he opened her door slowly – a cold breeze chilling him to the bone. An open window. There was an open window and no Cerise. “Mon amour…?” Why was he even asking for her like she was there? She clearly wasn’t. Chestnut-brown eyes searched the room to find her phone and then her ring. The choked sound that escaped him was hardly human, and then he was scrambling, throwing on some clothes, his gloves, and grabbing his jacket – shoving her ring and phone into the pockets.

It was getting so dark. Any shops would be closing soon in anticipation of the day tomorrow. If he was going to find her, he needed to move quickly. Vanderwood decided to go out the window. Where would she have gone? He bit his tongue – feeling the sting from the barely healed bite earlier. Vanderwood decided to head towards the shop area. She loved people, and if she wanted to hide and get away from him – he had a feeling that she’d seek out some place warm and inviting. That was just who she was.

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	26. Reparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After everything gets torn apart, making reparations is the only thing you can do. Vanderwood has to find Cerise and make things right - even if she never forgives him.

***From angst to resolution...if things can be resolved. I have a certain love for the calm after the storm. With technical difficulties now taken care of, all of my accounts are up to date with current chapters and posting should be much easier! Woo! ~Let's Connect! FFC***

As his feet hit the ground, the thought struck him that she probably didn't want to be found - not by him anyway. Pure panic flowed in his veins. _Breathe. Idiot. Breathe._ Vanderwood was forcing himself to move - a gloved hand closing around the ring in his pocket. She was leaving him. Did he even deserve to find her? He wanted to make sure he found her - to make sure she was safe, to tell her it wasn't her fault. Maybe, just maybe, he could convince her to come back home with him. Or maybe it was better this way. He shook his head. No, he was going to find her and set things right. Vanderwood knew he was being selfish, but he couldn't live without her anymore - not anything that could be called living.

***

Cerise had no idea where she was even going to go. First, she’d headed to the park - sitting on the swing and leaning her head against the chain as the seat swung gently back and forth. There wasn't any real way she could describe how she was feeling. Hurt was only a small piece of the very messy puzzle - both the physical and the emotional pain. Cerise knew that he hadn't meant to hurt her wrists like he had, but the fact of the matter remained that it had still happened. It shouldn't have happened.

This man used to kill people for a living. She'd seen him so easily break someone's wrist on a whim. Couldn't things have gone so much worse? He had been right that night on the stairs all those months ago. What was _she_ compared to someone who wanted something from her? He had demonstrated twice now that she was powerless. Cerise shook her head and sighed - warm puffs of breath visible in the cool air. It was going to be dark sooner or later, and that meant it would get colder. She stood up and began walking towards the shopping district.

Cerise didn't exactly wear the most functional of winter clothes, and in her haste, she hadn't grabbed an actual jacket to boot. Still, at least her arms were covered with the light jacket she had already been wearing. Even that wasn't going to do much good for her if it got colder. Luckily for her, she had stashed a pair of gloves into the pockets of that particular jacket. At least _some_ luck was on her side.

She walked and walked, admiring all the colorful lights and decorations of the various shops. Everything was so festive and warm. People were so cheerful and welcoming if she decided to walk in and take a look around. It almost made her forget about her own troubles. In another stroke of luck, she had actually had her wallet on her from when she had to pay the delivery boy the rest of the money for the cake. She found a squishy little keychain of a new character that was so ridiculous that it was kind of endearing. Pastelle the Prissy Poo - it was so silly that she managed to giggle upon seeing the softly colored, glittery, anthropomorphic cartoon character of the poo emoji.

As she walked around, she kept one hand in her pocket squishing on her new treasure - finding it somewhat relaxing. Cerise stopped walking as she came across a heavily decorated cafe. There were lights in the window, a toy train, a Christmas tree, and tinsel - the whole nine yards. It looked like something straight out of a dream, and she couldn't help but find herself inside at a table looking at the menu.

The inside was decorated similarly - the atmosphere warm and inviting. Christmas music played in the background, and there was even a simulated fireplace with stockings hung over it. It put a smile on her face. As crappy as she felt, this was the type of thing that could still make her smile. In no time, one of the wait staff was at her table to take her order. Cerise looked her over; the woman was dressed in the cutest Christmas themed uniform, and not to mention, she was super nice. "What'll it be, sugarplum~?"

Cerise realized that she was staring at the woman and laughed awkwardly. “I’ll take a gingerbread hot cocoa and a slice of your special Christmas cheesecake.” What she needed right now was something sweet she could enjoy - to help take her mind off things. Before she knew it, her order was in front of her - delivered with a smile by the sugarplum waitress. The taste of the hot cocoa was like heaven, and it definitely warmed her to her core. It almost helped numb the emotional turmoil. Cerise shook her head again, trying to chase the thoughts away - push them into the back of her mind. That wasn't important right now. What _was_ important was this adorable cheesecake in front of her that had gumdrops, little candy holly, other various candies, and sprinkles on it. Man, it tasted like heaven.

She almost didn't notice the sudden rush around her. It looked like the sugarplum waitress and an older man were practically running around trying to keep up. The place was _packed_ now. Cerise really felt bad for them; they were such nice people. A thought crossed her mind. She wasn't really doing anything - didn't have anywhere to go...maybe she could help?

Cerise got up and made her way to the older man who was frantically trying to decorate an order of some sort. "Excuse me? Hi...I was wondering if you needed some help?" The man looked up in surprise. There was a strange air about him but not in a bad way. It was more whimsical than anything. "Oh! Don't worry, you don't have to pay me or anything...I just noticed you guys were busy, and I don't have anything to do. I'd really like to help you!" She bowed, trying to show some respect. Sometimes she forgot the cultural nuances when she was in Korea - bowing wasn't something they really did in Paris, but it felt appropriate now.

The man looked her over, seemingly deliberating. "What a nice young lady~ Who am I to deny such a heartfelt request?" He smiled at her - his eyes twinkling under the lights above him despite the rush he was in. "I don't have any extra uniforms on hand right now, but there's an apron behind the counter. If you could take orders, you can leave the rest to me."

Honestly, Cerise had never worked a day in her life. She didn't know how to take orders, but she was going to do the best she could for these people who seemed so warm and joyful even under stressful circumstances. She found the apron in question and put it on - taking a pad of paper and a pen that was in close proximity. Cerise found out from Ms. Sugarplum which tables she hadn't gotten to yet and decided to start there. She was a quick learner; she would get this. It was a welcome distraction from the train-wreck that was her life. As hours passed, she found herself actually having fun and laughing along with the owner and his daughter as well as the other customers - who obviously appreciated her efforts a Hell of a lot more than other people had that day.

***

He'd made it to the shopping district, chestnut-brown eyes scanning the area for any sign of his Cerise. Vanderwood had realized that he couldn't call her fiancée right now - a sting going through his heart. Every worst-case scenario that existed was flitting through his mind. Panic wasn't just a feeling; it was a living breathing entity that swallowed him whole, and he’d found himself running throughout the streets of Korea - full out running, bumping into a few people and then doing something he'd sure as Hell never done.

"Have you seen her?" He looked like a madman pushing his phone at strangers. "She's really short, super short, absolutely beautiful. Please tell me you've seen her!" Every person he tried was more intent on running away from him than helping him. A 6ft tall, dangerous-looking maniac. A young man was taking off from him again when Vanderwood plopped himself onto a bench, putting his head in his hands and sobbing.

His heart was being wrenched from his chest - his very soul being torn in two, and then he dropped his hands - looking ahead through the blur of his tears…There she was. She looked happy - smiling and talking to customers. Why was she in an apron? Seemed like she'd managed to get a job in a matter of hours. Vanderwood felt his breathing still. She was fine. Cerise was just fine without him. Maybe it was better if he waited for her shift to be over, gave her phone back, said his piece, and walked away. Just tell her it wasn't her fault - then, let her live her happy life. It was too late for him, but it wasn't for her.

Cerise could be happy without him. At least she wasn't choosing drugs like his mother - just a better life without him in it. He was crying again. It was really surreal. People always seemed to think that men didn't cry - that crying was a feminine phenomenon, yet he was one of the most masculine guys on the planet. He snorted at himself - ever the cynical asshole. Always a cynical asshole. Vanderwood looked up to see her again - the smile on her face, and it was like a shard of glass had lodged itself in his chest. He couldn't sit and wait here; he couldn't. It hurt too much. People be damned. World be damned. God or whatever was out there be damned.

Vanderwood’s breath left his body in a rush, and then he was up and running again - into a café covered in Christmas decorations. Uncaring of the people around, he grabbed Cerise up into his arms and held her tightly as he buried his face in her hair. Was that the smartest choice when she was probably terrified of him now - wanted nothing to do with him? No, but he was too busy sobbing into her hair. There was a constant stream of, “I'm sorry,” leaving his lips between the sharp intakes of breath his sobs were causing.

She had barely noticed Vanderwood rush in due to talking to one of the few customers left in the café before she’d been swept up in his arms. It took a moment for her brain to process what was going on. Vanderwood was here in the café. How had he even found her? Right...former secret agent. Her body tensed up automatically, and her wrist suddenly felt like it was on fire - a not-so-gentle reminder of what had happened earlier.

Cerise wasn't sure how she was supposed to react. She wanted to cry; she wanted to be angry - to lash out at him, but that wouldn't make her any better than he had been. It was impossible to find the words to say as he sobbed into her hair - apologizing to her over and over. _How_ was she supposed to react? Her chest felt tight, her heart hurt deeply, but she just didn't know what to do...What was happening right now? Was this even real...?

Her eyes followed him as he collapsed to his knees in front of her. By now people were staring. She was probably causing trouble for the owner. Cerise flashed the man an apologetic look - earning an understanding nod. All she wanted was to cry, to tell him that it was okay - to forgive him. That was what her heart was telling her. The words were in her mind. Even so, Cerise knew that he had a problem - knew that it ran deeper than she had imagined. Things could have gone much, much worse for her, and she wouldn't have been able to stop it. She considered herself an understanding person, but there was only so much she could take - only so much she could have tried to break a barrier that he didn't want to be broken.

Cerise’s voice was a soft murmur. "Let's...go over here." With little effort, she was able to urge him into a nearby booth where she sat opposite of him. Ms. Sugarplum quickly brought over some coffee and put a cup in front of each of them, leaving with a concerned smile. All Cerise could do was stare at the broken man in front of her as she absentmindedly rubbed at her wrists. He had moved along with her with seemingly no struggle at all, even. Seeing him weak and dejected just seemed so wrong. She could at least hear him out.

Vanderwood knew he looked like an idiot, and he was just causing problems for her again, too. He wasn't one to act out like this - certainly not for an audience, but too late now. What was most important was that he told her what had happened, that he explained to her the truth about why his birthday and Christmas were so painful for him, and why it wasn't her fault. Vanderwood sat hunched over in the booth - barely able to meet her eyes as he tore his gaze away from the table.

"When I turned six years old, my mother said she was coming for Christmas. I sat in front of the tree with Caleb for four hours before Caleb fell asleep in my lap and dad went to bed. I woke up the next morning, and she still wasn't there. Turns out she got so high that she forgot or just couldn't make it. Either way, she chose drugs over me on Christmas." He had to pause, taking a breath - feeling winded and his throat raw from the crying.

It was all bubbling out now - too fast to even notice the way she was rubbing at her wrist. "On my seventh birthday, I waited all day for my dad to remember. I thought he was kidding around, had some surprise for me...but nothing happened. Mom was supposed to come again, and I waited...I guess she forgot, too, because when the doorbell rang, it was dad's friends. I put Caleb to bed, and when I came back downstairs..." His voice broke, and he had to shove the rest of the words out like he was pulling a tooth without medication. "My birthday present was finding out what your dad shooting up heroine looks like."

Cerise was silent still as she listened to him - nursing on her cup of coffee. It was a lot to take in; there were a lot of walls coming down. It wasn't the ideal situation or place, but he was finally telling her why he had been so grumpy, so distant - colder than the air outside. Hearing everything just made her hurt more, although almost in another direction. He had been dealt such a bad hand - both him and his brother. It was really no wonder to her that he could be so cold and rough on the outside.

Vanderwood hung his head in shame again as the memory of the way she'd looked at him from beneath him after his snap came back - far more painful than even the childhood ones. "I was trying to shut those memories out - completely shutting myself down...when I...when I treated you like..." He simply couldn't say it; he just couldn't. Bloody Hell, what a fucking prissy ass wimp he was. "I told you to get away from me, because I didn't want to hurt you any further or go down that slippery slope of sex. You are so much more than _that_ to me. You're the only truly beautiful thing I've had in my life for almost a decade. You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, you were doing everything right. Granted, I don't like being woken up, you almost lit the house on fire, and there were sparkles bloody everywhere, but you cared so much more than any other human being ever has - even my parents. You are quite literally the best thing that ever happened to me...I just couldn't handle it."

So many words, so much to say, Vanderwood just kept going, because if he stopped, it wasn't going to come again. He would just be walling up all over again, and nothing would be different. She needed to know _everything_ \- whether she was going or staying. Cerise needed to know. "I'm so much better since I met you, but I'm still a broken man, and I...forgot that I needed to watch myself. I forgot that I'm an addict. I've been doing so well that I've been laboring under the delusion that love is a miracle cure, but it isn't...It's the support that I need to reach being healthy, but as magical as it feels - it isn't the cure. I was stupid. I didn't pay attention, and I should have told you everything from the beginning. This...it's all my fault...and I can't ask you to forgive me, because I wouldn't deserve it. I just wanted to be happy, and I didn't want to ruin all the hard work you went through to make this day something other than the pain it's always been...so I didn't tell you...and I didn't tell you when it was getting to be too much...and I'm sorry, Cerise. I'm so sorry."

Cerise couldn’t quite come up with her own response yet - still trying to sus everything out for herself. It comforted her to know that he hadn't been telling her to leave because he had actually wanted her to, but because he recognized what was going on with himself and didn't want to put her through anything worse. He hadn't trusted himself; he was trying to protect her. She had also been living under the delusion that love was the cure for everything - that that alone could fix everything just like in the movies. Life didn't work that way. Life was a big, fat, bully full of harsh realities.

She was young and didn't have a lot of life experience. For all intents and purposes, she shouldn't get involved with him again. They should just go their own separate ways. Cerise was way too young and inexperienced to be what he needed her to be for him. Maybe he was too broken to be fixed. It was delusional of her to think she could turn around so many years of pain that ran much deeper than she had known.

Vanderwood couldn’t stand the silence - waiting for her to tell him what she wanted to do, that she couldn’t forgive him, just anything. He felt like a failure - like far more than a failure. It was getting to the point where the talking was just as painful as the silence. Reaching into his pocket, he removed her phone and lightly pushed it towards her on the table. "You'll...need this...if you go..." The ring came out next, but he left that in the palm of his gloved hand - the rose gold standing out against the harsh black leather. "You...probably don't want this...That's why you left it, right?"

Moment of truth, a doomed half-life without her or picking up the pieces. His eyes slowly met hers again - chestnut-brown to honey-gold as he closed his fingers around the ring. "Just tell me, and I'm gone. I won't so much as breathe your name." Although, because of how completely insane he was, he would probably follow her to the ends of the Earth - watching like some fucked up version of a guardian angel. If he had the energy, he would have snorted at himself. _Bloody cynical asshole._

Her eyes locked with his - those chestnut-brown eyes that she loved so much. The look in his them was pained but full of so many other emotions. She couldn't pick them all out. He _did_ care, and he was sincere. She could see it. Tears began to well up in her eyes again. Too bad she loved him way too much to let him go - to let him continue to suffer alone. There was no way she could bear being apart from him. They needed each other - as broken as he was and as inexperienced and young as she was. She could have handled this so much better, like the adult she was supposed to be. They both could have handled this situation better, but that was part of life, too.

"Marion..." She hadn't meant for his name to escape her lips, but it had, and now the tears were spilling over and running down her face as she began to sob. Cerise found herself moving out of her side of the booth and all but throwing herself into his arms - sobbing into his chest. She needed him; she would always need him. Obviously, neither of them was perfect, and they still had a lot to learn about each other and themselves. For better or for worse - that's what she was promising him when she had agreed to marry him. There were things she could have probably said = like apologizing for going too overboard and for running off instead of trying to calm down and understand. Sometimes she felt like she was still a kid. There was no doubt in her mind that she still had some growing up to do. All that she could get out was that she wanted him to stay - just like she had after that first kiss. "Stay...please stay."

He tensed as her tears began - his entire being in pain to the point that even breathing was a struggle. Vanderwood was fully expecting her to turn him away. That was what he deserved and what was best for her. His heart tore at the sound of her sobbing. Vanderwood held her tightly to him as she cried. She was asking him to stay…She wanted him to stay. He buried his face in her hair; it was all he could do to keep from starting to cry again himself. Damn, it was a good thing she hadn't cut it weeks before. _Cynical asshole_. He held her tighter.

Even with what he'd done, she wanted him to stay. Then, he would stay, but he would be damned if he didn't do a better job. "Let's do Christmas...the lights, the decorations, the tree...everything. I want to do everything with you." Words were just coming again, but at least this time it was a positive thing. "New memories...with the woman who loves me like no one else...If that's what you want, too." She was trying to calm herself down when he pulled back and cupped her face in his hand. He wanted to celebrate Christmas with her - the right way. Cerise had stopped full on sobbing, but she couldn't help the tears that were still coming down as he brushed them away with his thumb.

"I love you...I want this happy life with you. I promise this time...this time, I'll tell you what's going on in my head." Should he kiss her? He sure as Hell wanted to, and he didn't care whether people were watching. Fuck, he hadn't scanned the room even this entire time, but he was too busy staring into her eyes to be bothered. What a useless agent he would be right now. Good thing he wasn't one anymore - thanks to her. Better to wait...hear her answer first before he did anything.

All she had wanted was to understand him, to get him to talk to her and let her in. He had told her once that he would try, but it had still been hard for him. Now he was promising her. "Yes...I'd really like that." Cerise managed a small smile. She would do her best to try and not overwhelm him - maybe ask him how he felt before she went all out; she could at least do that for him. "I love you too, ma moitié..." Cerise had long ago forgotten all about the people in the room with them. It didn't matter. She'd make it up to the nice man and his daughter somehow, but for right now, she was just a little lost in his eyes. He very much so looked like he wanted to kiss her - which was fine by her, because that's what she wanted, too. Cerise closed the gap between them and pressed her lips against his.

Just like when they'd first started their relationship, she was the one to remove the space between them. Vanderwood held her to him as he kissed her back - nothing rough, but the kind of kiss that made it seem like the world had stopped spinning. Why did it feel like she was putting his heart and soul back together? That's exactly what she was doing. When the kiss ended, he pressed another to her forehead as she nuzzled into him. "Ma moitié..."

Now he finally scanned the room, and there were quite a few onlookers - each averting their gaze when his swept over them. Was he really that frightening after sobbing like a child in the middle of the place? Apparently, yeah. He shifted to open his hand - looking at the ring that had left a small indent in the leather of his gloves and showing it to her. "I'm going to keep this...for now...and I'll propose to you again...um if you'd like that." That was a cheesy thing to do, but it seemed fitting. Maybe this time he'd remember the right words in French. There was another part of him that wanted to whisk her away and say, ‘Marry me right now.’ But that must just have been from the rush of relief he was feeling.

She hadn’t cared to look around herself but turned to eye her ring as it sparkled in the light. He wanted to propose to her again; he was such a cheese-master, but she couldn't complain. Nodding, she gave a brief, “Mhm,” as confirmation. Vanderwood felt like he could finally breathe again. The world seemed more peaceful to him now - quiet. Every time he told her what was on his mind, it seemed like he was lighter - like living was easier, even if it hurt like Hell coming out. So...maybe he was on the right track.

He wasn't about to drop his guard like he had earlier. "Do you...want to come home now?" Could he trust himself in a bedroom with her...Yeah, but he wasn't going to do anything other than holding her - for tonight at least. Best to be on the safe side. Cerise let out a tired sigh of relief - feeling like all of the stress had washed off her rather suddenly. "Yeah. Please, let's do that." She was exhausted - both physically and mentally.

Cerise pulled on Marion’s hand as they were walking out, going to the old man and his daughter to thank them and apologize for the chaos she might have caused. Vanderwood made his own apologies to the owner and waitress. He was awkward and stiff about it, but it was the right thing to do - even if interpersonal stuff wasn't his forté. They assured that it was no problem and had even asked if they could call her if they ever needed the help. She was more than happy to give them her number. The old man sent them off with to-go boxes of something he had insisted on making for them. It looked to be a pasta of sorts from the glimpse she got before he closed the box. That was good, because she was _starving_ , and she was sure that Marion had to be, too. He was probably way too tired himself to cook.

Vanderwood tucked the to-go boxes under one arm - wondering where he'd even put Cerise's dinner plate down from earlier before he went out the window. It was going to be freezing in the house. He wrapped his other arm around Cerise as they walked - in part because he needed the contact, but also to keep her warm. She never seemed to dress for the weather. It was surprising to see she had her gloves with her, but that had probably been sheer luck - knowing her.

Looking up at the stars, he snorted softly. "You know...where I lived in Britain, the ground would be covered in slush right now, but in all the time I've been in Korea, I've maybe seen it snow once. I kind of miss that." Once the floodgates were opened, apparently sharing got easier. "That sounds pretty...it didn't really snow in Paris. If it did, it never stuck." There was a small smile on her face as he shared just a small piece of his life with her...something normal and small, but just as important to her. Vanderwood looked down at her with a small smile in return.

He gave her shoulder a light squeeze before he let go as they reached her house, pausing before opening the door. There were thoughts burning on the tip of his tongue, and it was best to share them. "Thank you...for everything you did today. I'm sorry it became...the mess it became..." She'd done so much work, and he'd wanted to appreciate it all earlier but couldn't, because he was so busy trying to keep his feelings under wraps. Cerise shook her head in response. "I should have checked with you to see how much you could handle...You did warn me before that you wouldn't be in a good mood on your birthday. I should have been more sensitive." She looked to the ground, kicking her feet a little. "There are things we both could have done differently, you know?"

That was something he wasn’t going to argue. Still, he was impressed by her. He’d always known she was strong - always known she was maturing. Cerise had proved not only her strength to him today but her ability to grow, too. Even if he thought he didn’t deserve that she was doing so much for him. “You’re amazing; you know that?” She looked up, flashing him a little smile. "Yeah...amazingly cold." Cerise tried joking, poking at him a little. "Let's get inside where it's warmer?"

***

They’d chowed down on the food the café owner had made them, Cerise feeling slightly guilty as she saw Vanderwood putting away food that he’d made earlier. It was just like him to make food for the both of them even if they were fighting. As she looked in the bathroom mirror, she could see that her eyes were still a little red from crying. They would look perfectly bright and cute in the morning.

She threw on her pajamas - quickly brushing her teeth so she could get to bed faster. It wasn’t normal for her to forego her nightly routine, but she was just _so exhausted._ The bed looked _so inviting_. Sooner or later, he'd wander in and join her, so she decided to get on her phone to wait. The angle that she tried to hold it at was a little uncomfortable. It hadn't really bothered her before, but that's when she noticed that her wrists had bruised darkly from when he had grabbed her earlier.

It was all an accident. He hadn't meant to hurt her. Sure, she knew her wrists hurt a bit, but she didn't think they'd gotten bruised. She rubbed at the left one - which was the worst of the two and sighed. If he saw this...she really didn't want to make things worse than they had been. Cerise plugged her phone in and decided to lay on her stomach with her arms under the pillow. She didn't think she could hide it from him for forever, but at least he wouldn't have to deal with it that night. "Marion? Are you coming to bed?"

He'd finished up the dishes rather quickly - standing outside by the door to the bedroom as he took a moment to be by himself. Was he absolutely certain he wasn't going to behave like he had earlier today? Vanderwood heard her call for him, replying immediately. "Yeah, just a second." He felt fine...other than being exhausted, so yeah, he was fine. Vanderwood opened the door and laid his jacket on top of the dresser for now before grabbing his pajama pants from off the floor. He'd thrown them on the floor and not in the hamper - a testament to how freaked he’d been. The way she was positioned wasn’t lost on him - making him tilt his head at her. That was...a new one?

After ducking into the bathroom, he went through his usual routine in the exact same way he did every day. The repetition was comforting for his OCD - giving him some semblance of control after a day with virtually everything going wrong. Now that he was more right in the head, everything ended up neatly placed in the hamper like it was supposed to. He crawled into bed and reached for her to pull her against his chest like usual, but it seemed like she was a little reluctant to get out of her current position. Had he scared her that badly that she didn't want to sleep against his chest? It would make sense.

Vanderwood bit at his tongue for a moment as he relinquished his hold on her waist, moving to lay on his own side and staring at the ceiling before he remembered that he was supposed to say what was on his mind. "Are you afraid of me now?" She mumbled softly that she wasn’t, but he couldn't blame her if she was. Vanderwood had told her before that not watching his strength was a dangerous game, and he doubted he'd been watching it when he'd pinned her. Wait...his breath stilled, he rolled once more onto his side, and chestnut-brown eyes met honey-gold - pleading for an answer. "Did I hurt you?" The way she was laying her hands under the pillow in front of her - it was like she was hiding something. Guilt was already washing through him again - already knowing the answer. "Please...Cerise...show me..."

Cerise was kicking herself that she had tried to pull away from him. The man was too perceptive, and she should have been more careful to act normal if she was actually going to hide this from him. As he caught her eyes, asking if he had hurt her, it made her chest twist up into a knot. She had hoped that he wouldn't notice for at least that night; _she should have just acted normally_. It wasn't like she could just tell him 'no'. Not when he looked like this. Cerise felt like he probably already knew the answer to his own question anyways. Slowly, she turned over onto her side - averting her eyes as she held her hands out to him.

A sharp intake of breath was the only sound as he took her hands in his - his eyes taking in the dark bruising. Her left wrist was much worse, but that observation didn't make him feel any better. "Cerise..." He lightly ran his thumbs over the bruises before he bent his head to brush his lips over them. In his head, he was wondering what he could do to make it better - at least to make them not hurt so much. Vanderwood knew her pain tolerance, but he also knew her medication intolerance. Surely a numbing cream would go over fine. She couldn't get high from that.

He let go of her hands to dig for his kit under her bed - finding what he needed quickly. "This won't hurt...and it won't get you worked up either. It'll just numb any pain." Cerise nodded, trusting he knew what he was talking about. Even if it _could_ affect her, she'd be asleep soon anyway. She still couldn't bring herself to look his way - not because she was scared of him or anything, but she didn't want to see his reactions to this. Cerise couldn't bring herself to look at the hurt in his eyes. This was something she knew he was going to beat himself up over.

At the moment, he wasn't touching on how guilty he was feeling - more worried about making sure he could help her feel better. Almost as soon as he had the cream on his fingers and was lightly brushing it over her bruising, though, there was a lump in his throat as his voice cracked. "I really hurt you..." Bloody Hell, he felt like shit. He'd bruised the love of his life. Fantastic. That was just...never again. He'd sworn never again with that first kiss, but this was a whole different ballpark. This... _never again_. Vanderwood would rather shoot himself in the foot.

"It's...it looks a lot worse than it feels, really." She felt like his birthday was memorable in all the wrong ways. They both definitely had a lot of things they needed to work on when it came to themselves and each other. Cerise knew that from now on, he would probably be extra careful when it came to his recovery. For her side, she would know that when he said he needed to be alone - it wasn't because he didn't _want_ her around. This sort of thing would never happen again, and she knew it; she trusted him.

She still wasn't looking at him. Cerise had said she wasn't scared of him, but the way she was avoiding his gaze made him doubt that. "This won't happen again." His voice was a little harsh as he said it, and that just made him worry more. Vanderwood bit his tongue before he decided he had to know - slipping his fingers under her chin to tip it. "Please, Cerise...look at me and tell me you're not afraid of me. I want to be sure." Relationships were far more complicated than his life before.

Cerise let her eyes fall on his face at his urging - looking into his worried eyes. "I'm not afraid of you, Marion..." The cream he had put on her wrists did help the pain, but it wasn't very prominent in the first place. It only hurt if she tried to squeeze it or she was holding her hands in an awkward way. Cerise tried to give him a reassuring smile, but it probably came out all tired looking. She certainly _felt_ tired, and her feet were killing her. All that running around and waitressing really took it out of her - not to mention the emotional parts of it all. "Tomorrow's a new day." Cerise cuddled back into the bed and towards him, so he could easily hold her if he wanted to. "So, let's get some rest, ya know?"

His eyes had searched hers, and she was telling the truth. "Okay...yeah." Once again, he pulled her hands to his lips - brushing feather light kisses over her wrists, so soft he wasn't even sure if she could feel it. "A new day with new memories - just for you and me." A little cheesiness to fall asleep with. Vanderwood pulled her close against his chest - taking the offered invitation and placing her where she belonged. "I love you, shortcake." He nuzzled into her hair, his voice coming up much smaller than usual - like it had a few times already that day. "Thank you...for not leaving me." He had some bloody major abandonment issues, but he'd be lying if he said he was surprised. Cerise barely heard him, lightly nodding before she completely conked out - dead to the world.

Check out my website. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	27. Christmas Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood and Cerise begin their do-over. Things will be better off from this point forward - they hope.

***It is now October, and I'm bringing you some Christmas feels as I start up with posting Tagged chapters again. Keep your eye our for some upcoming spin-off chapters I've written for Cherrywood as well, which I'll start posting soon along with some other works I've done. Good to be back in the swing of things! Check out the deleted scene from this chapter in which Vanderwood stops a purse snatcher. You can find out about that on my website, linked at the end of the chapter. ~Let's Connect! FFC***

The morning had started out very slow, partially because Vanderwood had slept in longer than he ever had in his life. Even when they’d been eating, Cerise had nearly been dozing off in her food. So, perhaps they should have slept their emotional and physical exhaustion off more, but then they would miss everything. Today, he was going to try, but he was going to do so much more effectively than he had the day before. If they enjoyed it for as long as he could tolerate, maybe they could head home and decorate before catching the Christmas tree lighting in their nearby square. Cerise seemed really into the idea already, and he couldn’t help but snort with a smile at just how cute she was.

The words 'Christmas bazaar' had been like magic to her ears, and Cerise had perked up instantly, hopping out of the bed with amazing speed before going through her closet to look for something cute. If they were going to go out on Christmas, she needed to look cute. Not that she wasn't already, but this was holiday cute. It didn't take her too long to find what she deemed the perfect outfit. As she was brushing her hair, a thought occurred to her...was he really okay with all of this? She wasn't being too overly enthusiastic, was she? Cerise didn't want to overwhelm him again.

As she was getting ready, Vanderwood took the time to get dressed in some of the clothes she'd bought him for his birthday - a thin purple long-sleeve shirt and a pair of dark jeans. They weren't restricting at all, and he actually kind of liked it. Hopefully, she'd be happy to see him wearing them, too. Vanderwood snorted softly, looking around at the birthday decorations that were still up. A new day. He was still a little anxious. He'd be lying if he said he was completely fixed now, but one step at a time, right?

"Marion?" He heard her call out to him from the bathroom before she appeared in the living room, finding him easily on the couch. "Are you sure about this? I mean...are you okay?" Her eyes were full of concern, making his heart melt and in turn making him smile. Damn, he loved this woman. "Yeah...I'm alright." He took her hand - the left - kissing where her ring was supposed to be, where it _would_ be by the end of the day. Vanderwood followed that up by giving her hand a squeeze, careful not to disturb her wrist too much. "If I need to stop at any time, I know who to talk to." Cerise couldn’t help the way her heart warmed, knowing that he was going to be more open with her today after the events of last night. "I'm glad." It was a new day, and she had a feeling that it was going to be a good one.

His eyes swept over her clothes as he stood up and instantly blush rose to his cheeks. "You look...you're adorable." Marion’s compliment had her blushing, too as she playfully did a quick twirl before uttering a ‘thanks’ along with her signature wink. He couldn’t keep his eyes on her after that wink - unable to control the blush in his own face. Instead of continuing to make a fool of himself, he reached for his jacket, throwing it on and then getting on his gloves before adjusting the shirt. "I like the clothes, by the way, thank you." Wow, he was feeling amazingly awkward this morning.

It took a moment for Cerise to realize that he was wearing something she had given him for his birthday, and he looked absolutely amazing in it - like she knew he would.  "Wow, they look so good on you!" The air was definitely less tense than it had been the previous day, which she took as a good sign. She'd have to make sure to periodically check in with him to make sure he was okay - just to make sure. "Are we heading out now?"

He had forgotten just how much her praise could affect him, but Vanderwood just tried his best to keep functioning. "Thanks, shortcake...was planning to, yeah. Unless you need some more time at home? I thought we could shop, head home and decorate, then go to that Christmas tree lighting thing...if I can manage all of that." Sure, he felt pretty good now, but what was to say he wouldn't see or hear something that would make him freeze up. Best not try to treat himself like he could handle everything one hundred percent no matter how much he wanted to be normal. He reached for her hand again - this time to lace their fingers together. "I'm good to head out now. Just don't push yourself for my sake, okay?" Cerise squeezed his hand and grinned.

She was so glad the mess that was yesterday was over and done with; she was also happy that he was giving this a chance. Things wouldn't always be easy, and she accepted that. All they could do was try and work through it together. It was certainly already an improvement that he was being chattier with her. "I'm sure there's a lot to look at and enjoy before we come back here. Haven't really been to one of these things, since I normally avoid anything Christmas. You'll have to help me figure everything out." He gave her an apologetic smile, not sure how much fun he was really going to be to show everything but glad she was going to be the one doing it.

His thoughts flickered to Seven. Were he and his brother going to celebrate Christmas this year? Seven hadn't been into the whole...Christmas spirit...thing either. Maybe he should check in with them later. Right now, he was with Cerise and going to try to stay relaxed as much as possible. "There's a lot of stuff around to see, but it's honestly prettier at night...I think I might have seen something about a gingerbread workshop if you're up for that?" Cerise was completely down to attempt to build a gingerbread house...or village...or city...

"I'll do my best, mon amour." Vanderwood was already leading her out of the house and locking up. "What do you even do at one of those? Just...build gingerbread houses?" He’d always thought the idea of making something out of food that you weren't going to eat was rather ridiculous. In fact, he found it even downright stupid, but...Hell, alright, he'd give it a try. Maybe he'd finally understand why people did shit like that? "Just lead the way, I guess?" Just another day of new experiences for him that he'd never thought he would have. He took a deep breath, letting the negative side of that thought slip away, choosing the optimistic perspective for once. So, yeah, a normal person should have experienced this kind of stuff already, but at least he was getting to experience them now with the most important person in his life.

Cerise was beside herself with excitement. She tried to tone it down - she _really_ did; she was just a naturally excitable person. Almost anything no matter how small could get her going. She was happy that the air was so much clearer between them. She was going to get to spend Christmas with the person she loved! How romantic was that? Cerise loved pretty much all holidays in general, but Christmas had to be her favorite. There was something magical about the season. Any of the negativity from before was pushed far into the back of her mind. These were going to be happy memories, good memories. "Yup! Build build build~"

It was cold outside. Very cold, but the anxious anticipation of the day in front of them made her not care very much. As they walked, she would point out anything she found interesting or gush over the various decorations around them. Every so often she would glance at him to try and determine if he was doing okay. So far so good, right? She held his hand tightly even as they reached their destination. Inside they were greeted by the organizer- a kindly old lady dressed in the ugliest sweater to ever see the light of day, but Cerise also thought it was kind of endearing?

Cerise had already anticipated a cover charge which she insisted on paying for. "It's kinda like I'm taking you out on a date, huh?" Marion was looking at her a little oddly at first, and she almost started to worry that things were going sour again. “Isn’t that supposed to be the guy thing? Or am I just shit at relationship stuff?” Okay, so he was just being…him. “Maybe usually, but this is the 21st century.” She tried to use her brightest sing-song tone, and it seemed to work. He snorted at her but didn’t fight it any further. Sometimes he really could act like a grandpa, so maybe that worked to her advantage.

There were a few other people there, but Cerise figured that if Marion was going to do this, he'd probably want to in the most isolated place they could. She was a social person, but she did respect that her man was _not_. After picking a place as far from others as she could, all they had to do was gather some supplies and they could begin. A station was set up in the front with supplies for visitors to grab from as they needed. That was where she tugged him next. "Wow~ Look at all of this!" Her eyes lit up as she scanned over all the goodies that had been set out. "So...what you're gonna do is build the edible house of your dreams!" Cerise pretty much grabbed everything she could get her small hands on--candy canes, gumdrops, icing, sprinkles...everything. Second trips were the enemy.

Vanderwood was still a little pensive as she brought him to the supplies table, but it wasn't like the gingerbread was going to hurt him or anything. There were...a lot of decorations and Cerise seemed to be grabbing everything, certainly more than she could carry. Vanderwood grabbed a large portion of the items from her. "I'll carry these." She didn’t seem bothered by that at all, and he was happy to be back in their seats rather quickly. From their spot, he could scan the entire room, and that was comforting for him when he was already feeling a tiny bit antsy.

Now that he was actually working on this thing, he frowned at the little pieces of gingerbread. He started by putting the pieces together with frosting - taking his time to match them up perfectly and wiping away excess where it spilled from the pieces being pressed together. Vanderwood didn’t pay attention to how much time it had taken, but now he had a gingerbread house. Great, it was standing.

"So...now what?" Vanderwood was mumbling to himself as he peeked over at what Cerise was doing. Hers was…something. It would be better for him just to focus on his own. Before long, he'd ended up with shingles made of sprinkles, windows out of licorice, and gumdrops cut into little pieces serving as the panes. He even added in a rain gutter, taking his time to form it out of icing. It was practical, and as the finishing touch he added the lawn and flowers in the windowsills. Seemed like a house to him. Maybe he was enjoying himself after all - even if no one was going to eat it.

Cerise would periodically stop every now and then to take a look at his gingerbread house. It was so...neat? Why did his look like a place she'd actually want to live? She'd added so much icing and stuff to her own that the roof was literally coming off in globs. Okay, so her gingerbread house didn't look so much like a house as it did a heart attack waiting to happen. While she sat and stared at it, she began to randomly pick at and eat the candy that had fallen off of it. The fact that everything was quite literally covered in icing made it taste even sweeter. Icing...Cerise glanced over to Marion again as he seemed to be finishing the lawn with little pieces of sprinkles to create a sidewalk, and she felt an overwhelming need.

"Hey, Marion?" His focus had been pretty intense when he heard her say his name. “Hm?” As he turned, he immediately felt something wet on his nose - realizing pretty quickly that she had just smeared icing onto it as she started to laugh. "Gotcha~!" What exactly was the point in that exercise? She was so happy that it was hard to be upset with her. "That you did." Cerise was adorably silly. He leaned in and took her chin, acting like he was going in for a kiss before nuzzling his nose against hers. His action smeared the frosting onto her own nose before he really did kiss her - just a light brush of his lips. "Gotcha."

She hadn't expected him to get her back, and she sat there just a little dumbfounded for a moment before regaining her composure as he snorted at her and grabbed for a paper towel to wipe off his face. If she could melt, she would have. Too bad a puddle of mush didn't make for a very good girlfriend. Her eyes scanned over the mess she called a gingerbread house. "Maybe I should start over..." She mumbled to herself. As soon as she finished mumbling, her roof caved in as if to answer the question for her. "...I feel sorry for the gingerbread family that gets my house. At least yours are lucky."

He’d looked over at her again after cleaning his face just in time to see her gingerbread house collapse, laughing a little along with her. "Just don't put as much liquid filled items like thick frosting on top and keep the heavier things towards the bottom." He was a perfectionist about these things - whereas she seemed to just have fun with it. On some level, Vanderwood admired that ability in her. Even if he knew it came from a childish place, it was beautiful the way she could walk into something so silly and make a mess without worrying over every little thing.

Cerise nodded at his suggestion, and with enough supplies to start over, she did just that. Although, this time she was very careful not to overload it again. It still had a bunch of stuff on it, but it was more balanced. He went back to his own gingerbread house as she restarted so that he had something to do. Vanderwood started on a fence for the thing. It looked like a real house. Making it look like anything else would just make his head hurt, but he _did_ enjoy it. He’d once enjoyed making things, not out of food, but he had an artistic side. The thought had him pausing, messing up one of the fence posts which he carefully removed and fixed.

Vanderwood looked over at her new and improved gingerbread house with a small smile. "That's...going to stay up." It seemed more stable. "I think so~ Yours is still better, though. I'm totally jealous! Who knew you were an expert in gingerbread?" Cerise couldn’t help but to giggle, glad that they could go out and have fun with something. She had a feeling that he was enjoying it more than he let on, too - rather than just tolerating it. "I'm hardly an expert." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, face lighting up with blush. Damn his penchant for praise.

His eyebrow twitched minutely as he noticed the frosting still on her nose, wiping it off as a little blush built on her face. It would be so nice if they could do things like this more often. Vanderwood felt like being out and about was something she needed, but he had his own limits. After being so focused on the gingerbread house, he was starting to get shifty - eyes travelling over the people around them. Right now, he needed to get back to the house for a little while. "Can we grab a tree and go back to yours? I need a break before we decorate, I think, but I'd like to be home." As much as he'd love to find something else fun to do with her, she'd asked him not to push himself, and he'd promised to tell her when things were going on with him. It was just a minor stress, so he didn't think he needed to talk about it, but a break would do him good.

Cerise gave his arm a squeeze and nodded, happy that he was at least communicating with her. "Let's do that. We don't have to get anything too crazy." They wrapped things up and said goodbye to the kindly old woman. With it being Christmas Eve, they weren't going to have many options when it came to trees, so Cerise settled on the first thing she could find a few shops away. Even though it wasn't _huge_ , it was still bigger than she was. As they passed the shop with the gingerbread again, she noticed their creations were displayed in the window, causing her to widely smile and tug on Marion's jacket to get his attention. "Look! In the window there! Isn't that cute?"

He’d been thinking about how comical it was that their tree was barely half his size yet it was bigger than Cerise as they passed by the way they'd come earlier. Her tugging on his jacket had him furrowing his brows as he looked where she was pointing. “What? Is it your reflection?" Okay, so apparently even confused he could manage to be cheesy. At least he’d earned a blush and a smile. It took him a moment to realize that she meant the houses displayed in the windows, and it did bring a smile to his face as he readjusted the tree he was carrying. "Yeah. That's cute. Not as cute as you, though." Would there ever be a day that he could contain that cheesy side of himself again? Well. At this point, he wouldn't want to. She just held onto his jacket and pulled at it to get him walking again. “You’re right! Let’s go home now~”

It was nice to be back in the house and sit for a little while before they started to swap the birthday decorations for Christmas ones. Vanderwood had to admire her effort at hanging some of the decorations, because she'd probably had to drag a chair from spot to spot. A lot of the time he took for granted that he could reach the ceiling. Then again, most people took for granted that they didn't have to angle their bodies to get through a door and that the hotel bed would always be long enough.

Vanderwood watched her as she threw around tinsel, seemingly everywhere. Not that he was surprised that this was her favorite type of Christmas decoration. It wasn't long before the house was...Christmas cheery? It was far more than he'd ever experienced even back when his family had been happy, or at least what he could remember of that time. Vanderwood bit his tongue. There had been a time that they'd been happy, but now he was happy here in the present, and it didn't do to dwell on the pain. It just didn't.

He realized he'd zoned out again and looked around the room to find Cerise tossing the last of the tinsel at the tree. That was going to be Hell to clean up, but alright. He made his way over to her, noticing the way she paused before a bright smile started to grow on her face. "Hey, Cerise...I love you." What about right now made that seem like a perfect thing to say? It could just be how grateful he was for her in his life. He wasn't sure, but he took her chin in hand and kissed her soft but deep, letting it last before pulling away. "Sorry. Needed that out of my system."

She wasn't sure what had gotten into him during that moment, but she wasn't complaining, feeling like she had practically melted away from the soft but passionate kiss. "Sorry?" Cerise looked up to him and put a hand on her hip with the biggest grin. "I dunno if I can accept your apology...unless I get another one, that is." He was doing so well despite the issues that he had, and she was proud of him. Cerise did her best to pull him down to her so she could kiss him in a similar manner.

Vanderwood didn’t fight her at all, though his heart flipped. Funny how it still did that sometimes. As she pulled away from the matching kiss to nuzzle him, he could barely suppress a snort. “Hey, Marion, I love you,too~” There was nothing like that feeling of warmth she put in his chest just by being her. "I'm glad. More than glad." He ended up hugging her, probably for a good while longer than either of them had expected before he realized and coughed softly - pulling away to rub the back of his head awkwardly. "Maybe we should take a walk? Find somewhere to eat before the Christmas tree lighting?" What time was it even? Was he just a bit antsy for the ring to be back on Cerise's finger?

"A walk sounds great~" She took her phone out and checked the time. "The lighting doesn't start for a while. That means we'll be able to take our time." Cerise eyed him curiously before speaking again. "I'm surprised you actually wanna eat out." It really was a little strange for him to suggest something other than cooking himself unless they didn't have access to their own kitchen. Vanderwood rubbed the back of his head. "It's a special day, why not eat out?" He was acting weird, and she was noticing. So that was something he’d have to reel back in. Thankfully, she was already off, and he didn’t have to worry too much.

Cerise hopped her way to the front door to throw her jacket and boots back on - tinsel swaying about the place with some even falling on the floor as she passed the tree. It didn't take long before she was back - noticing she had accidentally strewn tinsel everywhere and taking a quick moment to clean it up and throw it on a part of the tree that she noticed was balder than her father's old manager.  "Did you have anywhere in mind, hon~? Or did you just wanna wander around until something looks good?"

Wandering sounds good. I just want to be with you." Lightly, he stroked her cheek. "I feel a little...needy? Not like _that_ but for attention." Bloody Hell, what happened to reeling it back? Vanderwood wanted to pull himself into an alley and beat himself over the ridiculous way he was acting. Cerise had opened her mouth to speak before he elaborated, but now silently took his hand as he coughed and reached for her own. "I'm being an idiot." Marion was being so chatty and clingy, but that was alright by her because she enjoyed when he was 'being an idiot.' Cerise nodded and made it out the door with him, waiting for him to lock it before they moved on. "Hey, Marion~ You're adorable." The way he was sticking close to her and how he was talking more than normal made her just want to cuddle on him _but she couldn't._ She settled on looping her arm with his and hugging it close as they walked.

The blush on his face was immediate as she complimented him, grumbling at her remark. “I’m not cute.” For fuck's sake, opening up was turning him into one of those feels-y guys. It would be better once he was certain she wasn't going anywhere. He knew she wasn't, but that didn't make it any easier that she was supposed to be his fiancée but at the moment was...just his girlfriend. Obviously, he'd gotten too used to the idea of forever, but soon he'd have forever again. “You’re the cute one.”

She scoffed at him. "I didn't say you were cute. I'm the cute one, yeah. I said you were adorable." There were little stands set up everywhere, people milling about, some people walking around with wrapped presents. Who would forget to buy something until the day of? Cerise squeezed Marion’s arm more tightly, but then raised an eyebrow as he seemed to stop in his tracks. She would have asked what was wrong, but he had started walking again just as quickly. Still, he felt tense. Maybe it was better if she still asked. "Erm...something wrong? We can always go back if you need to. I really don't mind." She was a little worried that he was forcing himself to be out and about. If it wasn't comfortable or fun for him, she didn't want to drag him with her. Cerise could easily grab them some _healthy_ takeout and retreat back home if he needed.

He had been in his own little world as he was griping at himself. Vanderwood hadn't actually gotten her anything. It didn’t help that she had noticed his tension rise when it was something he would rather try to solve without her knowing. Now that he had worried her, it would be better just to tell her. "We don't need to go back. Nothing's _wrong_ , I just..." His voice trailed off into a mumble before he stopped walking. "I forgot to get you a present...the stress and everything. But I'll get you anything at all that you want now. I'm so sorry, shortcake." He felt _terrible_ with as much work as she'd gone through to get him presents, sure for his birthday, but he doubted she hadn't done the same for Christmas. The _least_ he could have done was remember to get her one, too. "I know I'm an asshole, but I'll do anything to make it up to you."

"Is that all?" She poked at him playfully before looking up at him with a smile. "I don't care about presents. As far as I'm concerned..." Cerise motioned towards him and then motioned to everything around them while doing a quick spin for emphasis, "All this is enough. Walking around aimlessly with the person I love on Christmas Eve, nobody to worry about but ourselves...that's enough for me, you know? The feelings and the memories, those are gifts in themselves." She walked in front of him to take his hands into her own and catch his gaze with hers, giving him a reassuring smile. "You can be a real jerk sometimes, yeah." Cerise giggled, "...but that doesn't make you an asshole." She kissed his knuckles before dropping his hands. (Deleted Scene Purse Snatcher)

Vanderwood was surprised but at the same time, he should have known. Her spinning and gesturing around had a smile growing on his face slowly as she talked. Cerise was amazing. The happiness and love she exuded warmed him in places he'd long ago thought were frozen. It was only a little bit of a problem, because that meant his face was heating up, too. “If memories are all you want for Christmas, then that’s what I’ll give you.” One of his hands had ended up in the inner pocket of his jacket, clutching her ring. He’d said he would wait for the right time to ask her again, and tonight was going to be the right time.

***

After their dinner, there was still some time until the Christmas tree lighting, which made him all the more anxious. Cerise was picking up on it, because she kept asking if he needed to go home. What he _really needed_ was the tree lighting to happen. The Christmas tree was set up in front of a fountain in the square. Already there were quite a few people there, but they took a spot behind the fountain on the other side. Sure, the tree had lights all over it, but people generally wanted to see it from the front or side, not behind the fountain. Cerise probably thought it was just him trying to avoid the crowd, but no...he had a plan.

Cerise leaned into him, hugging his arm tightly. They were in front of a bench, but she didn’t particularly feel like sitting down, because holy crap it was cold. At least her stockings kept her legs covered for the most part. All in all, she was content for the day. She couldn't have asked for a day more perfect with him. Sure, he had his quirks when it came to being around people, but it wasn't anything that bothered her. All she needed now was seeing the tree all lit up. It was the perfect opportunity for a Christmas selfie with her one and only. What better picture could they have than one with a giant tree in the background?

She was a little concerned with how tense Marion seemed, but he had continually assured her that he was fine. The tree would be lit up soon, and then they could go home to just cuddle, too. So, Cerise decided to trust him, waiting patiently. As the lights lit up, so did her face. It was so beautiful. She had turned to gush over it but found herself at a loss for words. Vanderwood could see his breath now. She had let go of his hand in her excitement as the lights had gone on, but now she was looking at him kneeling in front of her with her ring held out. Her mouth was open, but she wasn’t saying a thing.

 

Cerise’s breath was fogging up the air as she stared at him. All she had wanted was to blab on about how beautiful the tree was, but here he was proposing to her all over again. "Cerise Song...I've asked you already, but this time I'm going to do it right, make a fresh start for us. There is no one in this world who makes me feel the way you do, and the thought of forever with you is a dream. Veux-tu m'épouser?"

Cerise’s hands had gone to her face, covering her open mouth as she listened to him. She was wrong about it being perfect before. He even managed to use the correct French this time! "Marion..." Cerise couldn't stop herself from all but launching into his arms, happy tears starting to gather in her eyes. "Yes, I'll marry you. Je t'aime, Marion," the first part she had said in English before switching to French unknowingly. Words couldn't describe how she was feeling; he really had picked the perfect moment. He had said he wasn't good at this sort of thing, but...this seemed good to her. Far beyond that - cheesy, unwittingly romantic jerk.

Vanderwood couldn't help the great big smile on his face as all the anxiety of the day seemed to melt off in a matter of seconds. He'd done it, and he'd done it right, because she seemed all sorts of excited and pleased. "Je'taime aussi, Cerise. Forever..." She felt so right to him. Even if she seemed like such an unfit match, immature and rather wild, it was only enough to irritate and challenge him in the best of ways. This was by leaps and bounds the best Christmas he'd ever had. Vanderwood pulled back just enough to give her a kiss - not giving two shits about the people in the vicinity. They were occupied by the tree, anyway.

It was still really cold, but she felt _so warm_ now. She didn't care about the people around them. If anything, they should be jealous because her life was amazing at the moment. There was an extremely attractive guy - who’d just asked her to marry him, by the way - kissing her. _Be jealous_. When he broke the kiss, Marion took her hand and slipped the ring back into place, making everything seem so right. It really belonged on her finger.

"This is staying here this time." Vanderwood gave the ring a kiss before looking into her eyes. "Thank you for the chance at a do-over...I'll do my best to make you happy, I really will." He was dumping out cheesiness and sweet words like they were the only things he could say, but he couldn't be bothered to be annoyed with himself for it. "Soon it'll be a new year - a whole year I'll get to be with the love of my life."

Cerise felt like this just kept getting better and better. She couldn't wait until she actually got to marry him. Never would she have looked at him the first time they met and thought, 'This guy will be my husband in the future.' Okay, well...she _might_ have sent a few texts to friends with pictures of him attached saying that he _was_ totally her new 'husband' while he was helping her move stuff in. Whoops. At least now it was gonna be true? She gave him a warm smile as she returned his gaze. "And thank you for being with me...I know I'm stubborn, and I still need more life experience but..." She rested her forehead against his shoulder, breaking their eye contact, "I can't wait to experience life with you there with me. New year, clean slate~"

He was beyond happy, snorting at her comment as he nuzzled her hair. "Most stubborn woman I've ever met but...I think you put up with me a lot in return." Vanderwood turned his head to kiss the side of hers softly, rolling a thought over in his head. They'd both referenced the New Year, starting over. Vanderwood bit his tongue for a moment. "Would you...want to get married on New Year’s?" It wasn't long until then now, what a week away? But if she could handle the short-term notice, he was more than ready to start their year off together as husband and wife. "I'd like to be married as soon as possible anyway...Just to be with you." There was a blush creeping into his face. "If that's not too much to ask."

She was a little surprised, toying with the idea in her head. There was something kinda...poetic about it, and that's the sort of story she would just completely fawn over if she had read it. Everything about it screamed new start - the beginning of the rest of their lives. Cerise pulled back before she gave him a soft kiss, short and sweet. "I'd love to marry you on New Year’s. I can't wait." She'd have to hurry up and find something to wear for that. It wasn't an actual wedding, she already knew how he felt about those, so what _was_ she supposed to wear for that? Noogle was her friend. Cerise was sure that she could find answers there. She nuzzled on him before straightening herself up. "It's getting colder...take a selfie with me in front of the tree? And then we can head back home, call it a night?"

"Yeah, that sounds perfect." He hadn’t been sure if she was really up for his suggestion, but the confirmation just made him feel that much more excited about the year to come. Vanderwood looked over her outfit. It wasn't exactly the coldest thing she could have chosen, but she was still probably quite a bit chillier than he was. Looking around it seemed that almost everyone had left the area now, mostly there just to see the tree light up and then disperse. “Just a few pictures. I don’t want you getting any colder than you are already.”

Cerise giggled and rolled her eyes at his protective nature, but she wasn’t going to fight him on it. The air certainly wasn’t going to get warmer outside, and any time that he agreed to a photo was a good time for her. At least this time she’d _asked_ for pictures instead of taking them without saying anything. Could anyone blame her though? This man was gorgeous on camera, and she obviously appreciated how photogenic he was. Besides...her candid photos of him were what set everything in motion. Where would she be right now if she hadn't taken them? Where would he be? _...Who would he be with?_ Cerise pushed that thought out of her head. He was here with her now. They were going to be married in a little under a week. Everything was perfect.

He ended up sitting with her on the bench, which made their height difference easier to contend with on camera. Cerise was pleasantly surprised at how compliant he was being with the selfies. Marion was even smiling, and then he even snuck in a kiss causing her brain to shut down momentarily. "Sneaky~" She teased as her senses came back to her, pushing on him playfully. They scrolled through the pictures together, and every one of them was perfect, even the surprise one. Yeah, she was definitely going to get one framed. 

Vanderwood couldn’t help but feel like he was ridiculous, but there was a certain pride in how happy he’d made her just by sneaking a kiss for a picture. There was a cool breeze that sent a shiver through her, reminding him that she didn’t need to be out in the cold much longer. It must have reminded her, too as she spoke up in her sing-song tone. "Let's go~" Vanderwood stood and stretched before slipping off his jacket, laying it over her shoulders before holding out his hand for hers. The jacket pretty much swallowed her - just another indication of their difference in size.

He thought back to the first time she'd worn his jacket - the night he'd essentially kidnapped her to save her from Drawl. As much as that moment had been a terrible and frightening ordeal, had it never happened, she wouldn't be here with him now. Vanderwood ended up wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they walked, wanting her to be able to snuggle into his jacket and get the full warmth of it. Cerise let out a yawn, doing exactly that. The jacket was certainly doing its job.

His eyes turned skyward, noting the way the stars looked clear that night. When he'd been back at Seven's bunker the past few times to help him with his brother, he'd noticed the way Saeran was always looking at the sky. He really should check in on them...Christmas and all that. Even if Seven was annoying as all Hell, he was a decent guy and the closest thing to family Vanderwood had had for almost what 6 years? They were almost to her door now. "I'd like to go check on Seven and his brother. I'll be back here for Christmas morning, breakfast and all that good stuff, if that's alright with you?" As much as he hated being away from Cerise, it wouldn't be for long, and it almost seemed wrong not to go check up on the two redheads...Ugh...redheads.

Cerise had been so ready for some cocoa and snuggling up to sleep when they made it to her door. There was a tiny part of her that was somewhat disappointed, but another part knew that she shouldn’t be. It made sense to her that he'd want to check in with Seven. He _had_ been in his company for a while. Just the thought of Marion caring for them made her smile. Marion was a lot nicer and caring than he lead people to believe. An absolute sweetheart. "I don't mind. They're kinda like your family in a way, huh? I think it's great that you wanna check in with them, you know?" She waited for him to unlock the door so she could get inside. Maybe she should send her parents a text...call them? It _was_ Christmas, and she hadn't for so long now. Just to check in...that couldn't hurt, right?

Sort of family...yeah...I mean I took a bullet for the guy, so he has to mean something?" Vanderwood went in with her, heading into the bedroom to grab the pillow she'd given him as a gift. It smelled just like her thanks to all the cuddling she gave it on a regular basis, so that would probably be the one thing to help him sleep. Cerise had mixed feelings about him grabbing that particular pillow. She _did_ give it to him, but on the other hand, it was _so soft_ like hugging a cloud. guessed she'd allow him to take it with him…this time. He had started rambling on about Seven, anyway, and she just let him at it. As much as Marion complained about Seven, she knew he cared deeply for him.

"Besides he can't take care of himself anyway. The kid basically lives off PHD Pepper and Honey Buddha Chips. It's disgusting." Was he ranting about the redhead? Maybe a little bit. "But he is pretty much family...Always reminded me of Caleb." He went silent for a little bit. That's right, when he'd first met Seven he'd been quieter and reserved, kept to himself, but one day he got a fairy tale book and ever since then he'd been completely wacky and very much like Caleb. He even wore red and had that stupidly messy hair. But he wasn't Caleb, because Caleb was long gone. Seven was Seven.

The moment of silence wasn’t lost on Cerise. He’d said that Seven reminded him of his late brother. Marion would always go quiet when he was talking about or remembering his brother, and all she could do for him was to let him have that moment. She doubted that he would ever truly get over his brother's death; it would always weigh heavy on his mind. Knowing how much it hurt him was always a sobering experience.

There was one good thing about it though that she had noticed. From the time he’d first expressed his pain to now, he was handling it so much better. "He's lucky to have you to worry about him." Vanderwood bit his tongue, feeling a little tension in his shoulders which he breathed out before he bent to take Cerise's chin and give her a soft kiss. "Thank you, mon amour. I'll see you tomorrow." Cerise was giving a little smile into their kiss, which he loved, and as their kiss ended, she didn’t make it any easier on him to go. “Yeah, tomorrow. Miss you already~”

He was in no hurry to leave her, but he was definitely in a hurry to get the stress he'd just put on himself out of his system. A short run after he got to Seven's bunker wouldn't be so terrible. "I love you, and I'll send you a text when I get to Seven's." With one more little kiss, Vanderwood was out the door, calling out to her as he left. "Don't forget to lock it." Seriously, she’d better lock it, or he would be even more stressed in the morning.

Nearly as soon as she saw him get into his car and drive off, she disappeared to the inside of her home and took a quick selfie of her locking the door with the caption `dnt wrry, locked up tight!` She walked into her living room and looked around. It was strange, all decorated and festive but...quiet. Cerise held out her hand and looked at her ring that was finally back where it belonged, moving her hand so it shimmered in the light. The wait hadn’t been long to have it back in place, but it had seemed much longer.

They were getting married. It was happening soon; she would be someone's wife. That meant her name would change too, right? "Cerise Vanderwood..." She said it to herself aloud, and there were a lot more syllables now, but she quite liked the sound of it. With a sigh, she took out her phone and texted both her mother and father, wishing them a merry Christmas and telling them that she loved them. At least she wasn't a completely crappy daughter.

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	28. Forgotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood has forgotten something at Cerise's house. At least she gives it back.

***Hello everyone! I'm hoping to have some extra special Cherrywood content for you all coming out soon. For now, please enjoy this lovely smut! ~Let's Connect! FFC***

Just a couple boxes left. Vanderwood already felt like he’d been away from her too long, but the packing was important. He’d be moving in right after their wedding. The past couple days, something had been nagging him, too. It felt like he'd forgotten something, but he couldn't place what. Vanderwood had the little gadget she'd given him after they'd snuggled up with cocoa Christmas morning, so it wasn't that. It was just impossible for him to place what it was he'd forgotten. He checked his phone and realized it had been a long time since he'd replied to her. `Sorry, shortcake, I got busy with packing. I think I can come back to your place tomorrow and move some things around, so I can get my stuff moved in. I miss you.`

***

Cerise flicked through her social media feeling bored out of her mind. Marion had been gone way too long, and she was beginning to get antsy. It wasn't like she couldn't function without him or anything, but she always felt best when she was able to just reach out and grab him whenever she wanted. There were only a few days until they would marry, and he was going to officially move in with her. It was kind of like he already had - just his stuff wasn't there yet. Most of his time was spent at her apartment. He was always surrounded with her things, so it would probably be nice for him to have his stuff around, too.

Maybe she could help him make space? She couldn't make him do all of the work. She was sure there were a few things she could rearrange. Luckily, her apartment had a storage closet that she would be able to make use of, so she decided it was a good idea to move some things she didn't need there. Cerise was in the middle of moving stuff around when her phone went off with his special tone. Great time for a break! Well...at least with his text she knew he would be back the next day. Still, though, she missed him. `miss u 2 can't w8!`

***

After looking around, Cerise decided that she’d done everything she could until he came with his stuff. Her gaze landed on a magazine on the counter that she had gotten a free subscription to but never really read. She'd seen her friends read similar things, and they seemed super into them...Maybe it would help her pass the time? Cerise picked up one of the issues she had and read the front. ‘Make Him Want to Eat You Up.’ The headline seemed a little cringy even for her, and it looked like some sort of relationship advice? Why would you want your guy to _eat_ you, though?

Her natural curiosity was overpowering her discomfort, so she shrugged and took her readings to the couch. It didn't take her long to find out that the 'advice' was specifically for those in a sexual relationship...which she was…and had _nothing_ to do with _actual_ _eating_. Why was she even getting embarrassed reading this? There wasn’t anyone else around, and she wasn't a kid, so... She went back to reading. Maybe these people had good advice. If it was published in a magazine, it had to be good, right? Someone had to approve it to be printed, obviously.

Maybe she could surprise him or something with her newly acquired information after he got back home? Her face heated up at the thought. She'd never really initiated anything between them before, too worried and nervous - wanting him to take things at a pace that was comfortable for him and his recovery. Would he even be okay with it? Cerise could just try once and see how that went...

***

Vanderwood felt like it was going to take all day digging through Saeyoung’s place to actually find what was missing. As much as he hated being apart from her, the need to find whatever it was had him anxious. What was it that he was forgetting? Finally, he decided to text her and ask if maybe he'd left something there after all - even though he was certain he hadn't. `Did I forget something at your place?` He had to figure _something_ out before he went crazy looking for it.

***

Her phone pinged again with his tone, and she immediately checked it. He had forgotten something? That wasn't really like him. Cerise wandered around the apartment until her eyes fell on his jacket. Normally, he didn't go anywhere without it, but lately she'd taken to using it as a glorified blanket, so it was no wonder it had slipped his mind. She quickly snapped a picture of it and attached a message. `r u tlking abt my new blanket?? sry, it's mine now ^_^` She looked at the message before she sent it. He really loved his jacket, so...maybe he would come home for a moment to grab it? `lol jk, u should just come get it otherwise it's gonna bother u 4ever`

While she waited for him to respond, an idea popped into her head - special thanks to the magazine she had read. If he _did_ decide to come home then maybe...where did she even put it? Oh, right. The employee suggested purchase he’d made after they first met. She had shoved it into her 'drawer of forgotten stuff'. Cerise headed over to it and pulled out the bag nervously.

Knowing what it was had been enough to make her nervous, but she hadn’t even seen it yet. She took a deep breath and pulled it out for the first time. It was actually...really cute. That was a surprise. The item was really nothing more than cute nighties, just with...added implications? Well...almost. It wasn't anything anyone should be wearing in public. Marion hadn’t responded yet, but somehow she was positive he would opt to come to retrieve the jacket so... _Here goes nothing_ … It actually fit perfectly, and she _did_ look cute in it. Cerise threw his jacket on over it. She really wanted to see his face when she finally gave her 'new blanket' back to him.

***

His phone pinged with a message from her and then another. Vanderwood checked it and snorted at her response. His wife-to-be was adorable - his anxiety melting away as he now both knew what he was missing and had her antics to distract him. She'd taken a liking to cuddling in his jacket, and he rather liked seeing her in it. It couldn't hurt to make a short detour trip and grab it. Maybe they could eat together before he finished getting things arranged for the move and their wedding. Yeah. `I’ll be there soon.`

***

She hadn't noticed when her phone went off, and when she finally checked it, a smile played across her face. _Knew it._ Now it was just a matter of waiting. Cerise had seated herself on her bed, already studying up with her new buddy, Daquiri-politan. Whoever wrote this stuff was a genius! The knock on the door that came later made her jump. Okay, so he was there now. He had his own set of keys, so he could let himself in. It would ruin the surprise if she ran to him, as much as she wanted to, so she just stayed still.

***

He’d spent just a little time getting into clean clothes and fixing his hair before taking off, getting to her place in good time. Vanderwood knocked on the door to give her a heads up that he was there before unlocking it with the spare set of keys he'd been granted. He was just happy it was locked in the first place. As he locked back up, he called out to her. "I'm here, mon amour."

Cerise pulled his jacket around her a little more tightly to make sure it was closed before she called out to him her location. His jacket was so big on her that no matter how she wore it, it looked the same. Due to her affinity for skirts, he would be none the wiser until he got the full view. She was pretty sure the look on his face was going to be completely priceless. Once he came into view, she grinned at him. "Welcome home!" Holding the jacket closed, she moved off her bed and walked towards him. "If you want this back, you're gonna have to take it from me...think you can? Because I'm pretty sure I can take you." She teased, sticking her tongue out at him playfully.

Vanderwood nearly rolled his eyes at her, a smile broad on his face. It wasn't like he'd been planning on grabbing it quick and then leaving. He raised an eyebrow at her teasing, halfway wondering if she actually meant it. "You think you can take me?" The idea of his shortcake getting the drop on him was comical in the best way.  Her response was accompanied with a giggle. "I think so, yeah." Vanderwood snorted and closed the space between them, taking her chin and giving her a kiss before he took his jacket. He pulled it open to slip her arms out of it, but when he moved back to help her… _Bloody fucking Hell._

The brunet was frozen in place as his eyes wandered over her, briefly going to meet her gaze before he was looking at what she was wearing again. It was lingerie. Not just any lingerie. _That_ lingerie. His hands tightened on his jacket before he let go, and it slipped to the floor. She knew she had him when he dropped his most prized possession onto the floor. Marion’s face was definitely worth it, every bit worth it. Cerise felt blush building with the way his eyes were wandering over her, but the magazine had said that confidence was key, so she gave him a playful wink.

The wink hadn't been good for his heart either. It was pounding. Did she know what she was doing to him? Of course she did. He was hard as a rock already. Vanderwood's mouth found hers, a hand burrowing into her hair as he pressed the other to the small of her back to pull her against him. She could feel it against her now, exactly what she'd done to him. Cerise returned his kiss with the same enthusiasm as he showed her. She was so lost in their kiss that she didn't even know where either of them began or ended. At least she could tell he liked it. Cerise pushed against him more.

Their kiss was rough and passionate. His hand tightened in her hair as his tongue tangled with hers. Cerise grinned up at him as he broke away, loving his reaction as Marion took in another view. "Holy shit..."Vanderwood kept staring, wanting her _now_ , but trying to hold back to appreciate this moment. Cerise had never initiated something sexual let alone worn something like this to do so. He honestly wasn't sure if he could trust himself not to be far too rough. "I uh...need to...calm down...a little...." Yet he didn't move, completely captivated.

She couldn't help but to giggle at his apparent inability to function correctly. He was telling her that he needed to calm down, and for a moment that was disappointing, but at least he was communicating with her. She nodded at him. It wasn’t like they couldn’t start up right where he’d left off. "Take all the time you need, mon amour~" She trusted when he said he needed a moment that he meant it. Just the fact that he even recognized it himself meant he was making progress. Cerise grabbed a pillow and held it to herself, hugging on it as she planted herself on the edge of her bed once more. If they were going to do anything, she needed to be sure he was okay. She wasn’t going to push the issue.

Vanderwood gripped the top of the dresser as he tried to take a couple breaths. Gentle. He needed to be gentle. There was a heavy blush on his face and something hungry in him, watching her hug onto that pillow when he would rather she was hugging onto him. She watched him trying to calm down, paying extra attention to the wonderful reaction she’d managed to cause. Was he eyeing the pillow jealously? The thought made her laugh to herself a little. It actually took him a lot less time than she was anticipating as he took a deep breath, moving towards her.

The first thing he did was take the pillow from her. _Jealous over a pillow_. He really was a silly man sometimes.  She thought that maybe the reason it hadn’t taken him as long to relax was because he was being impatient, but he proved that theory wrong when he took her chin. Marion kissed her again - this time much more slowly - letting it progress into something more deep and passionate rather than a full-on attack.

The impatience more than anything was what he was worried about, and Bloody Hell was a specific part of him impatient right now. With each passing second, he ached to have his hands on her, to feel the soft fabric of the item he’d purchased for her through coercion after they’d just met. Wasn’t it some sort of poetic justice that she was choosing to wear it for him now? Vanderwood broke the kiss to murmur against her lips. "You look amazing..." Which she did. She really did.

 _Confidence. Men like confident women_.  She was normally a very confident person, but intimate things were an entirely different territory. On top of that, she had to worry about his addiction. Cerise would have to make a conscious effort to keep tabs on him, but she trusted him to tell her if there was a line crossed - just like he’d told her a moment ago he needed to pause.

"Do I? You like it?" Of course, she already knew the answer. Cerise climbed into his lap, facing him and hearing his breath hitch as he responded in the affirmative. She could definitely _feel_ the answer. Marion seemed at a loss, and Cerise wrapped her arms around his neck giving him a slow, deep kiss. Vanderwood had imagined her in this, what was it now, a couple months ago? That couldn't possibly have prepared him for seeing it on her in the flesh. He was stunned with how she was acting. What had gotten into her? Whatever it was, he liked it - his gloved hands tightening on her hips as she kissed him.

Cerise was the one to pull away, trailing kisses to his ear where she nibbled before whispering into it. "Better than you imagined?" Cue internal screaming. She was trying to flirt this time; she was serious about it, so why was she screaming at herself? Maybe it was just her nerves. His heart completely stopped for a second before he could manage out a response. "Much better..." Vanderwood pulled back to get a good look at her face, trying to figure out what she was trying to do. Did she want him to take over? Because, Bloody Hell, did he want to, but he didn't want to hurt her either. The lack of control he had was disturbing, yet he didn't want to stop her either. Whatever she was trying to do, he figured it was working, because he was putty in her tiny hands.

She could tell by the way his chestnut-brown eyes flicked to her face and gazed into her own honey-gold that he was trying to read her - figure out what was happening. He was a little confused probably. That was good. She liked to throw him off. His inability to function was helping her silence the screaming, and she could use this. Cerise let her hands venture to where he was gripping her hips, removing them before she tugged on the hem of his shirt, warning him as to what she was about to do.

With his fiancée forcibly removing his hands from her body, he knew she wanted to stay in charge. That was fine; he could handle that. Vanderwood had to keep reminding himself to breathe. With her in his lap, every little move she made caused her to brush against his monstrous erection as she started to work on getting his shirt off. It was frustrating when she met with a little difficulty due to their size differences. The urge to pull his shirt off himself crossed his mind, but he pushed that aside. If Cerise was opening up to him sexually on her own, he wasn’t about to stop her.

Cerise leaned back a little to admire him as victory over her nemesis - his shirt - was won. She dropped the item to the floor, running her hands down his chest and abdomen as Marion closed his eyes. Her hand lingered for a moment on the scar that matched hers, stroking her fingers gingerly over it. The night that started it all - their blessing in disguise. She traced it once more, looking back to his face to see Marion had opened his eyes again.

"Take off your gloves~" The more she got into this, the easier she was finding it to stay confident. Cerise leaned forward again to kiss and nip at his jawline and neck. Vanderwood didn’t respond, working on his gloves but finding it difficult as she started to place marks on his body. It was almost torturous, since she’d never really explored him other than briefly. She seemed to be giving him a full work up of gentle little bites.

Normally, she ended up placing a single mark on him during love-making, but it was her turn to mark him up all over like he always ended up doing to her. Of course, any mark she left would need to fade away sooner for pictures from their wedding, but as Cerise got to his collarbone and shoulders, that wasn’t a necessity anymore.  Vanderwood had only managed to get off one glove before she really bit into his shoulder, a soft grunt escaping him. She was starting to heavily mark him up. The next glove came off just in time for her to place another.

Vanderwood grunted again, fumbling with tossing his gloves onto the ground with the rest of his discarded clothing. For once, he wasn't sure where to place his hands - eventually deciding to place them lightly on her lower back and tilting his head to allow her to do whatever she wanted. That's what she was doing - whatever she wanted. This should be terrifying him; he had no idea what was going to happen next. Vanderwood was finding that he loved it. Even though he wanted desperately to have her right now, he loved this. Every movement was a sweet surprise, and he trusted her implicitly.

Although she was surprised with how patient he was being and the way he was tilting his head and allowing her access, she wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.  With his movement, she had been given access to the crook of his neck - probably marking him a little harder than she had intended in her excitement. She was just so over the moon that what she was doing was actually working.

Cerise changed course and slowly ran her tongue up his pulse, able to feel just how fast it was. She took great pleasure in knowing that his heart was beating that fast for her, _because_ of her. His hands had pressed against her back harder, so she let herself push up against his erection to tease him - feeling his pulse quicken even more.

Vanderwood felt like he was going to stop breathing with everything she did to him. As she found his lips with hers again, he was certain. She pulled back from the kiss far too quickly for his liking, but he realized her hands had traveled down and were working on undoing his belt. He couldn’t complain. His pants had become restricting long ago. With the belt off, he’d be just one step closer to what he hoped was her end-goal. Though, right now she was a loose cannon, and he had no idea what she’d want to go for next. It was taking a lot of effort for him not to pull her hard against him again, not to flip over and get the show on the road. Impatience was a real problem, and by now he was biting his tongue just to let her have her way. As much of a control freak as he was, he loved her, and he wanted her to feel good about their love-life, too. If that meant not being in control, then that’s what he wanted.

Cerise had managed to get his belt off, but there was no way she could do the rest from their current position. "To the middle~" She gave him the instruction as she climbed out of his lap, seeing the look of surprise on his face. So far, he had been extremely cooperative, but she also knew he could get antsy - that's what was making it so fun for her. Vanderwood followed her direction, the fact that she was telling him even where to move now throwing him. She would have to give him the reins back eventually, wouldn’t she? There was no way she was bold enough to stay in control this entire time. Where would she even have gotten that idea?

He gripped at the sheets below him somewhat impatiently as Cerise got rid of his shoes, wanting her hands somewhere else. At least he didn’t have to wait long before she was undoing his pants, pulling them off slowly. Cerise knew she was teasing him, taking her sweet time and almost able to feel how impatient Marion was getting just by the look on his face. He had to snort at himself with the way he was gripping the sheets. Sheets. At least she wasn’t still obsessed with the need to cover each other in sheets during sex.

When she finally got his pants completely off, she threw them to the side. Vanderwood suppressed the need to grumble at her as she admired him. When she started crawling over him, though, _that_ was a sight…One he wanted to remember. Could he burn it into his memory? He couldn’t keep thinking, not with what she did next. Cerise stopped to place a kiss just above the waistband of his boxers before she lightly palmed the erection he was sporting, a prize of sorts for keeping his patience. "Better~?"

Vanderwood let out a low groan at the contact. It was still too little...He needed more, but she had this look in her eyes like when...fucking shit. Her sadistic side was visiting. The realization kept him from making an answer, because he would need help if he ended up saying something stupid. Vanderwood bit his tongue. This was either going to go extremely well or terribly for him. Based on last time when she’d completely stopped right at the point of sex before they got to start over, he didn’t want to make _any_ mistakes. She could keep the control. Keep it however long she wanted. As long as she didn’t blue-ball him.

Cerise felt like she could see the exact moment where he realized what was happening reflected in his eyes. Based on what had happened last time, she didn't blame him for not answering, though quiet wasn't what she was aiming for. "Marion~" She sang his name, catching his chestnut-colored eyes with her honey-gold. Cerise kept eye contact with him as she began to stroke at his length more roughly. "I asked you a question. You're supposed to answer, you know?" There was a wide grin on her face, and she actually really liked this confident, being in control kind of thing. Obviously, that magazine knew what it was talking about. She wondered what other handy tips it had.

Was she trying to make him spontaneously combust? Vanderwood didn't know, but he let out a moan as she got rougher with him. Right, question, she'd asked a question. "Better...yes." He couldn't even think straight. Closing his eyes to try to breathe and relax wasn't helping either, because the image of her was in his head and her touch was impossible to avoid – not that he wanted her to stop. He needed her _now_ , but he had absolutely no control over any of it. "Cerise...please. I need you.." Begging, this little woman of his had made him beg. Where was his precious control? Probably somewhere underneath all her _real_ clothes.

Oh good, a response. Hearing him beg and moan only fueled the fire. She was absolutely loving this turn of events, having him at her mercy. It was almost too easy to give in now, though, because she knew he was naturally impatient. He had had asked nicely, though, so she got rid of the boxers - leaving him fully exposed to her. Every time she saw him completely bare, her breath would hitch. Her husband-to-be was an incredibly gorgeous man. Was she staring? She was totally staring. _Get back with the program, Cerise._

Her next mission was to mark up his thighs, making sure to 'accidentally' brush up against him as often as she could. When she was pleased with her work there, Cerise had one more place that needed her attention before she would do anything about his _need_. Plus, she just really enjoyed teasing him. The end goal was in sight, or so he’d thought. His erection had now become painful, and he wanted nothing more than to bury his hand in her hair and force her movement, but instead he clenched the bed below him even harder.

She loved the way he was gripping the bed with every little thing she did, but she was starting to get frustrated with herself by now. Dear Lord, was she aroused. Almost uncomfortably so. Cerise straddled him again, making sure she was sitting so she wasn't going to hurt him, but also positioning herself so she could potentially rub up against him. The article _had_ said to drive him crazy, and wouldn't that do the trick? That's what she guessed, anyway, but it probably wasn't going to be any easier for herself to feel him against her. Because, holy crap, she could feel that he was incredibly hard. She'd have to hold out until she was done if she could.

Marion was looking at her with this nearly ravenous gaze, but she tore her eyes away to travel over his body instead and check out her handiwork. Her plan had been to mark him everywhere she possibly could. It just felt so great to look over him knowing that she'd done it - that he was her territory. She was finding it difficult to bring herself to cover the last areas - his chest and abdomen - because she hadn't accounted for the fact that as much as he was teasing him, she was also teasing herself.

He was biting his tongue so hard as he waited for her next move that he thought he'd draw blood - just to keep from grabbing her hips and _making_ her help him out. Vanderwood wanted to be back in charge so badly, but at the same time, he wanted to respect his future wife's wishes. Somehow, he was going to have to hold out. How was _she_ even managing this? She had pretty much as high of a sex drive as he did.

Cerise moved to mark an area on his chest when she accidentally rubbed herself up against him harder than she had intended, eliciting a moan from herself as he cursed. How was she supposed to do this if she couldn't keep complete control of this situation?  There was no way he wasn't going to notice what was happening. He was way too perceptive for his own good. She'd have to play it off. _How do you play that off?_ No. Now she was blushing.

Realization had hit him nearly as soon as she’d moaned, but the way she was blushing and the look on her face made it even more obvious. He had an opening to take over. The urge to flip her was even stronger now. She was as horny as he was. It would be fine. Vanderwood was letting go of the sheets slowly, not wanting to move too fast and end up hurting her.

There seemed to be no way to end the internal screaming. _Don't make eye contact; don't make eye contact._ That's when she made eye contact. _Crap. Plan B. Distract him with a kiss._ Due to their vastly different statures, Cerise had to move up a bit to achieve that - catching his lips with hers in a hard, deep kiss. That should distract him enough from her blunder, right? _Right_? At least he was an amazing kisser... Oh, God, she was screaming at herself again.

Vanderwood had been trying to talk himself out of taking over as much as he could, but as she kissed him, he couldn’t hold back any longer. A hand buried in her hair, deepening her kiss further. Cerise was playing with fire, and it was clear she was getting burned. His other hand went to her hip and pulled her more against him, causing a moan into her mouth and whimpers to escape her in return. Yep. Fire. He was going to end up burning her too hard. Vanderwood broke the kiss, pulling back to breathe, and leaning his forehead against hers before he could manage words. "Mon amour...I can't take any more teasing." His voice was so dark and low that he barely recognized it himself.

Cerise was finding it hard to catch her breath. She knew almost instinctively that he was warning her, letting her in. God, she couldn't really take any more self-induced teasing either. Cerise needed him badly, and she knew that he needed her just as much. "Okay." She gave him one more quick kiss before pulling away. There was no way she was going to take the time to remove her lingerie, besides...why wear something special and cute just to take it off again? After a deep breath to calm any nerves, she hovered over him.

At least she wasn't wasting time anymore as she responded. His breath hitched in his throat as she hovered over him. Not only was she keeping the lingerie on, but…she was going to stay on top. Was she really doing this? Vanderwood wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. Maybe he was just stupid, but he'd thought she’d want him back on top, guiding her the rest of the way now that she’d gotten flustered, but that wasn’t the case at all.

It was easy enough for Cerise to just pull her panties aside before easing herself onto his length, causing her to bite her lip hard. Yep. Gravity was definitely doing its job, and she was going to need a second to adjust - despite being pretty used to his size by now. He struggled with himself to keep from grabbing her hips. Bloody Hell, it felt like he was already so deep in her. Maybe that was just a combination of angle and gravity, but it was fucking great. Vanderwood had never been in this sexual position. Still, this wasn’t even the finish line. She wasn’t moving yet, and he couldn’t just force it. He tightened his fingers in her hair, waiting it out along with her.

After a good fifteen seconds or so, she was fine to move. It was strange being on top of him during sex. The sensation she was getting was _amazing_ , and she had barely even moved. Wearing the lingerie even added a bit of eroticism to it, she felt. No matter when or how they made love, it always felt completely right...like their bodies belonged together. She wanted to warn him that she was going to be moving more, but Cerise was having a little bit of an issue with talking. That seemed to happen a lot when they made love, but he was good at adapting; she was positive he could handle it. She was taking her time with it at first to get used to the sensation, rolling her hips against his slowly. Cerise wasn't sure what it was, but like this it just felt different - different in a good way. It was already hard to breathe, especially between her moans.

Once she’d started moving, he was a mess. His hands ended up at her lower back, trying not to direct her, but he didn't need to either, because it felt damn fantastic. Her room was basically filled with the sound of their moans - a little surreal but mesmerizing, too. Vanderwood pressed harder against her back as she moved more, a snort escaping him at how much his senses seemed to flare when he was with her. No way would he have let anyone else do this, and he was glad. It was heaven with her, no matter how much he wanted more, it was still heaven. He smiled as he bent to kiss along her cheek, moaning nearly right into her ear.

At first when she had decided to be on top, he seemed to have been a little confused and maybe even concerned...but now he seemed to be enjoying himself. He was making noise, so that was a good sign - as he had once told her, it let her know that she was doing a good job. Had she spotted a smile? She had, and it made her heart soar. God, she loved this man. Cerise was actually quite surprised that he had let her remain in control, and she was going to do what she could to make sure she didn’t waste the opportunity.

She had picked up her pace and her movements were a little more erratic as she went on. Cerise could already tell that she wasn't going to be able to last too much longer. That's what she got for being such a tease and inadvertently making herself all hot and bothered. She knew by now that she didn't have to tell him; somehow, he always knew when she was getting closer. Cerise was able to readjust and change her position just a little, and somehow that made a _lot_ of difference. Now she had him hitting just the right spot, which had her crying out exceptionally loud. She felt like she wanted to melt.

Cerise was giving him more than he even could have asked for, and the edge already seemed so close. He was really taking in the sight of her, trying to make his mind function past how good everything felt. His moans were nearly as loud as hers by now, and with the way she was tightening around him, he knew what was coming. Vanderwood found one of her hands with his, lacing their fingers together before he felt like he couldn't hold it back anymore. Her teasing had really primed the both of them.  

As the climax hit him, Vanderwood threw his head back and gripped her hand tightly. She was still in control, so he couldn't stop like he usually did. He didn't care; she was right there with him anyway. Now he was just watching her, trying to catch his breath as he took harsh ones between his moans. He loved this woman. His heart felt full with the way she’d not only gotten what she herself wanted but given him a part of herself that no one else had ever or would ever see.

It wasn't a surprise to Cerise that he had been close, too, and she hit her own climax shortly after he had, squeezing his hand like he was hers. She shut her eyes tightly as she rode out both of their orgasms - the heat built between them raging before it cooled slowly. It was such an intense feeling that time. Her magazine had to be on to something. Cerise carefully pulled away from him and all but collapsed onto his chest in a panting, flustered heap.

The full weight of what she had just attempted hit her all at once, and then she was back to her internal screaming - burying her head in his chest. Of course, she had highly enjoyed it. She was sure he had, too but still...it wasn't too bad for her first time in control? Getting to tease him was a plus, too as long as she didn't take it too far. "I love you, Marion..." She mumbled after she was able to catch her breath some.

"I love you too, Cerise. Ma moitié." He wrapped an arm around her, the other pushing back his bangs as he was trying to catch his own breath. The way she’d nuzzled into his chest only made him feel like he was on cloud nine all the more. It was different from the way he'd felt after sex with women before. One obvious way - he’d wanted nothing to do with them, but it also felt vastly different to give himself over to someone he loved and trusted. Cerise was the only one he could trust like that.

Vanderwood stroked her hair softly, closing his eyes and just taking it all in. That was all sorts of a new experience, and it was clearly hitting her, too. He'd managed to see that look on her face before she'd nuzzled into him, knowing she was freaking out at least internally. There was stuff he needed to do in preparation for moving, for their wedding. For right now, though, he was going to spend a little time with the love of his life. Before long they’d be welcoming the new year and their new life together, but it felt like a new life had already begun – at least for him.

Check out my website. [~Let's Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


	29. New Year, New Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanderwood and Cerise start off the year by getting married.

***I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! That's why I didn't update last week as I was off having a bat-ty time with my sweet daughter. This week's chapter is full of awkwardity, smut, and romantic fluff, so I hope that makes up for it. Also, check out this beautiful art by FFC's official artist ChaoticStarBlossoms. This is now the cover page and will be posted with each upcoming chapter on tumblr. Isn't it absolutely gorgeous? ~Let's Connect! FFC***

He'd been able to get her to let him move _his_ bed into her place with _his_ non-pink and non-frilly sheets because of one promise - more space for pillows. The extra space wasn’t doing much for him, since she just ended up wrapped up around him anyway. Not that he minded. Vanderwood snorted as he disentangled himself from the woman who would be his wife in just a few short hours. Breakfast first, marriage later.

After he’d made their breakfast, he brought it to the bedroom, eating in what was an excited yet comfortable silence - other than the few little questions she would pipe up with about what they would be doing after. He'd gotten her a gift and wouldn't tell her what it was until after the wedding, and of course, she wanted to know. He snorted and gave her a soft kiss. "We should get dressed...just an hour until it's time. I'll change in the other room, so I don't see your dress yet, okay?"

He didn't care about all that superstitious stuff, but he did care about allowing her to make it her surprise to him. She'd been shopping with Crystal for it, but that was all that he’d been told. Vanderwood grabbed his purple dress shirt and leopard tie from his dresser as well as a pair of dark pants she'd gotten him for Christmas. It seemed fitting that he should wear stuff she'd picked for him for their wedding. At first, he'd refused the dress shirt, but she _was_ meeting him on his level and agreeing to a small elopement wedding when she'd much rather have the huge pomp and party. He should meet her on her level, too. The tie he had agreed to simply because it was leopard print, and it looked good on him - even if it was somewhat restricting and irritating.

Cerise had been pouting when he wouldn't tell her _anything_. Though, she couldn't spend much more time badgering him about it when they already needed to get ready. She really should have woken up much earlier. Cerise had a lot more to do than to just throw on clothes. All she gave in response to his question was an, "Okay!" before she watched him grab what he needed and exit the room. Cerise all but bolted out of bed to get all of her stuff together as soon as he was out. It was a good thing that she wasn't too big on makeup, so that wouldn't take long - just a little bit to make her natural cuteness shine.

***

Vanderwood had trouble with the tie - having only put one on once before. It took a few times of struggling with it before he called Seven. He did his parties all the time, so he'd know. The redhead laughed at him a good bit before Vanderwood snapped that he didn't have time for games today; he was getting _married_ and needed the idiot's help. Seven helped him figure it out after that and promised to be on time to the courtroom with his boyfriend Yoosung.

Their witnesses were taken care of, he was dressed, Vanderwood's new car was out front - complete with her new gift in the back - and everything was good to go. The wedding bands were in his pocket already. Now he just needed to see his wife-to-be in her dress. Vanderwood stepped out into the living room, calling out to her. "I'm ready to go when you are, shortcake." All he got was a soft noise in response. They weren’t running late, so he leaned against the wall to wait, fussing with the tie.

***

She’d gotten her dress on with no problem. It _had_ been a problem trying to find it. Cerise had gone out with Crystal in attempt to find the perfect dress as the Crystal shopped for herself as. After what seemed like twenty dresses, it had started to get a little hopeless. Nothing seemed to fit her correctly, and everything was incredibly loose on her. When she felt like she wanted to give up, Crystal had found this really cute blue dress and asked her to try it. Cerise did, and to her surprise, it fit like a glove. The person helping them said it was a something or other cut, but she was so excited to find something that was cute and actually fit her that she hadn't been listening. Cerise grabbed a few accessories to go with it, and they were done with that part.

Marion called out to her just as she was getting to her hair, but Cerise was too focused on what to do that all he got was a soft noise in response. Cerise had let her hair air dry the day before, figuring she could straighten it in the morning or something but nope! No time. Her hair tended to get wavy at the ends when she didn't do anything with it, and it bugged her so much.

She had to do _something_ with her hair and quick. After brushing her bangs to the side, she took a portion of hair from one side of her head and pulled it over to the opposing side, clipping everything in place with a really cute flower accessory she'd found to go with her dress. She examined herself in the mirror. Okay, she had to admit the waviness of her hair was helping pull it together - _this time_.

Crisis averted. After putting on some super light makeup and her shoes - without the danger of heels - she was ready. She had no idea how she had managed in such a short amount of time, but she had. Cerise took one more look at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath. They would be married in less than an hour; she would be someone's _wife_. It wasn't the big fuss that she had always dreamed about since she was a kid, but when you loved someone - you were willing to make those sacrifices.

One last internal pep talk and a few selfies, then she was good to go. "Ready!" Calling out in her sing-song tone, she went to join him in the living room. As she got a good look at him pushing off from the wall all she could think was, _holy crap_. He looked amazing like that. Marion was wearing things that she had picked out for him, and she couldn't help but imagine that if he looked that great in dress clothes - a suit was probably to die for. Too bad he had this weird vendetta against them for whatever reason. Once she got out of that little daze she was able to speak up. "You look so great...lovin' the tie, mon amour~"

Vanderwood was in his own little daze as he got a good look at the woman who was about to become his wife. She looked… "You look...well you look amazing."  That was to be expected, because she always did, but this was the first time he'd really seen her do something different with her hair, wear makeup, and the dress was perfect.

Her compliment broke his own daze, and he snorted - messing with the tie again and hearing her giggle at the action. "Yeah, it's a nice one - mostly because you picked it." Starting their wedding day off right with cheesy lines. She was grinning at the way he was looking at her, causing her to blush. It was just an added bonus that he seemed to be as fond of the tie as she was. Leopard print was apparently his kryptonite. "I feel amazing~"

He bit his tongue before he grabbed his car keys and taser. Vanderwood already felt a good deal nervous for no reason, so without a weapon on him - it would have been ten times worse. "You ready to go?" Cerise watched as Marion slipped his taser into his pocket, not making any effort to stop him. Sometimes she felt like maybe he was attached to it as though it were a security blanket, but it wasn't like he could carry a gun around all the time either. "Ready as I'll ever be."

***

All he could think about on the way there was the fact that he was about to be a husband. This wasn't anywhere close to what he'd expected out of life. Nothing at all. Vanderwood had thought he would die long before this. Here he was, happy with the love of his life. Cerise would steal glances at him, wondering if he felt nervous or was having second thoughts. He seemed fine. Maybe she was the one worrying. Marion loved her - if he didn't, he wouldn't be marrying her.

Once they actually got there, they had to wait in the court waiting room. Waiting wasn't fun, it made her a little anxious. Cerise was beyond excited but... _this has to be the most boring place on the planet._ Everything was so official looking and drab. Cerise had taken to watching Seven and his boyfriend - a cute little blond with violet eyes.

She couldn't figure out for the life of her how someone who seemed so sweet was with a prankster like he was. Cerise had to guess that the poor guy had been the butt of more than a few jokes. Seven had leaned over to whisper in Yoosung's ear, causing the poor guy's face to turn redder than she thought was humanly possible and slink down into his chair. It was kinda cute - in a way.

The longer they had to wait, the more Vanderwood wanted to get this done - just have her as his wife already. It wasn’t a matter of not being excited for it. He was _too_ excited for it. His hand slipped into hers, the other handing her the flowers that Yoosung had been smart enough to bring. The boy was an odd one, but rather sweet. "Thank you..."

Cerise squeezed his hand, not sure what he was thanking her for. Marion had the tendency to thank her for things without reason, but it always sounded so heartfelt that she knew whatever it was - he was serious about it. Despite not knowing what for, she would usually just reply that he was welcome. This time around she had something else to say. "I love you, Vanderjerk." The phrase was accompanied with a giggle.

"And I love you, with everything I am - though it isn't much." He snorted softly at the name, bringing her hand to his lips for a soft kiss to her knuckles. She couldn’t decide if she was happy or sad about the way he responded. Marion really had a habit of putting himself down. He was so much more than he thought he was. Sometimes she wished he could see himself through her eyes. "Does that make you my vandershortcake after this is over?" The name he tried was so ridiculous that she couldn't help but to laugh. She was obviously better at twisting his name around than he was.

He watched her laughing, relaxing slowly from the ridiculous cringe that was himself. She was going to be his. Cerise would be his wife. As he looked at her, everything felt so right. "Mrs. Cerise Vanderwood."  That had been meant to be musing to himself but ended up being spoken aloud. Oh well, that was her name in approximately 15-30 minutes. Cerise had mused over her new name many times, but it was completely different to hear _him_ actually say it. It was like someone had set loose hundreds of butterflies in her chest.

If she thought she felt anxious before, she felt it tenfold now as the clerk came out to drag them inside and the judge got going on having them repeat the vows. They'd gone with catholic vows, seeing as she was at least nominally Catholic. Even though Vanderwood hated God with a passion, the vows were still good. Cerise was anxious up until he looked into her eyes and held her hands. There was nobody there but the both of them in that moment. This was it, the moment they both gave each other their lives. She felt completely and totally happy - almost overwhelmingly so, and she knew by the look in his eyes that he felt the same way.

Vanderwood didn’t flinch as he was promising his entire life and being to the woman he loved - fidelity and steadfastness. He was totally and completely hers - vows or not - but he meant every word he said. "In sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, through good times and bad, as long as we both shall live." Vanderwood felt like living for a very long time with her. He hadn't known it, but she and their life together, the future they had to look forward to - it was everything he'd ever wanted and then some. Vanderwood didn't think he could ever be happier, although she had a tendency for surprising him.

She repeated her part of the vows, trying her best not to cry but choking up a little on the last part. Marion kept running his thumbs over her knuckles whenever she’d gotten stuck, squeezing her hands as they were now finished. Maybe she should have practiced, but she thought that she would have been too overly happy to choke up anyway. Her life wasn't going at all how she had imagined, but she wouldn't complain. She loved her life; she loved him. Cerise was looking forward to sharing the rest of it with him.

It was the last stretch. They exchanged their rings, and the judge pronounced them husband and wife. Vanderwood slipped his hands from hers to pull her into a deep kiss instead - maybe deeper than most people would be comfortable in giving with people around, but he couldn't care less. She was his wife. How happy could one person be? Was this real? It had to be a dream. Everything felt perfect. Cerise could tell how happy he was with him kissing her so deeply right then and there. She didn’t mind one bit, because she was happy, too.

There was paperwork they had to fill out, and Vanderwood handed Seven his phone to take pictures - since he knew Cerise would want them. Paperwork wasn't something she enjoyed, but it was all part of the process. If it weren’t for the fact that Marion had taken care of it, she might have lamented that she didn’t have her phone on her right then. He was always on top of little details though, and she couldn’t help but laugh at his exchanges with Seven. They really were like family.

Vanderwood narrowed his eyes at the redhead as he saw the glint in his eyes that meant he was about to say something stupid. “Now you can have babies, and they can visit uncle Seven's house.” Yoosung mumbled something about that not being safe, but Vanderwood just glared - making Seven shut up and the blond go pale as he responded. “I have my taser on me.”

At least they got their pictures in - a dip kiss for her and everything. Cerise wasn't expecting him to make such a show for the pictures, because _he hated pictures_. The dip kiss both surprised her and stole her breath away in the best way. She thanked and gave hugs to both Seven and his boyfriend - happy that they were able to stand in as witnesses for them.

Vanderwood was a bit tired of it all by the time it was over, but he couldn't stop smiling either. Mr. and Mrs. Vanderwood. It didn’t even seem real. Bloody Hell, he hoped he wasn’t dreaming. They had nothing else to do after they ushered off Yoosung and Seven, so he took her with him to the back of their new car. "Ready for your gift?" Her focus was instantly back on him and away from the two driving off in Seven’s flashy sport’s car. Marion had finally decided to tell her what her gift was. "More than ready!"

Cerise watched him as he got out a case and opened it revealing a gun...but not just any gun.  

It was the moment of truth as he revealed a small caliber pink gun covered in crystals. Just the way she liked things. Pink and sparkly. Seeing her reaction to the gift he'd gotten her made the smile already on his face even bigger. His _wife_ was adorable.

Her eyes lit up as she reached out to run her fingers over it. He had remembered what she said before that day he had taught her to shoot a gun. She turned to him with the widest smile on her face, "I love it!" She was so going to take pictures of it later, and she knew just the right filter that it would look amazing with.

It was funny that he would get her something she could shoot because..."Hold on~" She grabbed her purse from inside the car and removed an envelope. Cerise handed him the envelope with a wink. "Hope you like it~" Vanderwood was somewhat surprised. She'd gotten him something, too? Of course, she had. Cerise loved gifts. "If it's from you, I'm sure I'll love it." He opened the envelope and raised an eyebrow. It was a good thing it was from her, because anyone else - he would have told them it was ridiculous and refused to go.

She waited for his response to the gift, eagerly watching him with baited breath in hopes that she would get a response that told her she’d done well. Inside of the envelope were two tickets to a paintball range. That wasn't _real_ combat, but it was something she figured they could have fun with - without a dire, stressful situation.

For Vanderwood, shooting at the range was all well and good, but pretending to kill each other for a game wasn't something he found either productive nor decent. Still...it was a gift, and if she wanted to do it - it would be good practice for her anyway. The guns were different - more like rifles - but it could teach her lessons that would be strange for him to give her otherwise. "Thank you, shortcake. I think we'll need to change before we go, but when do you want to go?" There wasn't a date on the tickets, and they were all-day passes. Maybe she wasn't planning for today?

Was it just her imagination or was he less than enthused with it? Maybe something like, ‘You shouldn't pretend to kill people. That isn't a game blah blah blah.' Cerise was pretty sure he'd enjoy it if he could get over himself and learn to have fun. "Paintball? Nooot today. Way too much running around for me." Besides, the tickets were for an entire day and part of theirs was already gone. It didn't make sense to her to go now. Cerise moved to attach herself to him in an embrace. "I wanna spend time with my brand-new _husband_ ~ What does he wanna do?" It still felt unreal. He was her husband now. Saying it made her feel all sorts of giddy, and she couldn't help it.

The way she said husband melted his heart as he returned her embrace, kissing the top of her head. 'You' had popped into his head, but he quickly bit down on his tongue to keep it from escaping as his face turned incredibly red. He was glad he was holding her for the time being so his face could cool down. "Maybe we should go test out your new gun at the range, then head home and just...I don't know." Yes, he did. He knew _exactly_ what he was thinking. Perpetual asshole, but...Hell. Cerise probably wouldn't even mind.

She pulled back and raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? You _really_ don't know?" Cerise knew him well enough by now to know _exactly_ where his mind was. Of course, she didn't mind one bit - even if it did still make her super blushy. He snorted at himself and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Yep, she'd seen right through him. Well they _were_ married and that whole consummating thing, right? Yeah no, he was just digging himself a bigger embarrassment hole.

After she nuzzled into his chest again, she took a good look at his gift to her once more. Testing out her new adorable pink sparkly gun? That sounded fun. Plus, there was no running around involved. "To the range then it is!" They could figure out the rest after. Cerise figured that at least they should go out for dinner before heading home, because neither of them - especially her - should be cooking on their wedding day.

***

The range was different than the one at the agency. Cerise got eyed as they walked in, and it became clear why as the man behind the counter greeted them with something other than a ‘hello.’ "You know how to use these things, young lady?" What was his problem anyway? She was about to pop off at him before she felt an arm around her. Thank goodness for Marion, because she wasn't having any of it today. Vanderwood gave the man a dark look as he held onto his wife. "I wouldn't tease her if I were you. She may look small, but she bites." That was one way of saying it.

After checking out one of the sections, they made their way into their section of the range. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to correct her stance too much that day. He was already feeling frisky just with the wedding. Vanderwood had let her carry her case in and checked out a couple headphone-style silencers, so they wouldn't blow their ears out. The target was a large paper with the torso of a person printed on it - attached to a rope that could bring it nearer or farther. "I'm not sure you can do headshots yet, but feel free to give it a try." He handed her one of the headphones before putting his own on.

Cerise nodded, trying to look completely serious about this as she put on the ear protection he’d given her. This wasn’t a toy. She checked over her gun and took it into her hands after making sure that it was loaded with the safety off. It was really cute, but a gun was a gun.

"Okay..." Cerise let out a breath before getting into the stance that he had taught her before. She hesitated for a moment to make sure she was doing things right. When he didn't make a move to correct her stance, she decided to move on - lining up her sights with the target's head. Cerise shot the gun and _totally forgot about the recoil_ \- causing her to jump and yelp in surprise. Upon inspection of the target, she definitely hadn't hit its head.

As she jumped, he slipped in behind her to wrap his arm around her waist - moving her ear protection so he could talk to her and be heard. "Sorry, forgot to remind you." His hold on her was already helping her to calm down as she mumbled in response. “It’s okay…” He held her a little more firmly, using his body to move her back into position. "Try again."

Vanderwood let go slowly as she relaxed before adjusting her ear protection again and stepping back. As much as he wanted to keep holding her and keep her from dealing with recoil at all, it was better that she learned - just in case she'd ever need it. Hopefully, she would remember about the recoil if that ever happened. That was a risky business - either one missed or did more damage than they meant to.

She was thankful that he was letting her do this on her own. How else was she going to learn? If something had happened, it wasn't guaranteed that he'd be available to guide her. Cerise took another breath and tried to focus, reminding herself about the recoil before she shot again - aiming for the head a second time. Cerise was able to keep her nerve this time around and lowered her gun slowly to see where she had shot. Okay, so it wasn't _exactly_ right in the head, but at least it was the general area. If she wanted to shoot someone's nose off. She made sure her safety was on before turning to him and giving him a quizzical look, unsure if she'd done it right or not.

Damn. She was pretty amazing. Vanderwood sure had a Hell of a wife. _Wife_. The word was still making him melt. He looked towards the target again. Right on the nose - not off in the vast nothingness of a miss. She looked at him quizzically, and he gave her a thumbs-up. A big smile spread across her features. She was excited and proud of herself! Sure, she hadn't shot exactly where she was aiming, but she had gotten pretty darn close, considering.

He took his ear protection off and waited for her to do the same. "That's really impressive...Feel good about it? Not too heavy or uncomfortable in your hands?" She probably didn't know much about the intricacies of the different advantages this gun held over others. That had been stuff he'd meticulously gone through, but she could at least feel whether it was too much for her or not. "Nope! It feels fine to me~ You know how to pick 'em, huh?" He had probably put a lot of thought into getting her something that fit her and wouldn't be too difficult for her to handle. Cerise went over to him and held onto his arm. "Soooo...do I get to see you shoot?"

Vanderwood felt just a little ego stroke at her appreciating his choice for her, though her question had him raising an eyebrow. "Do you want to? I don't have mine on me, so I'd have to check one out or use yours." Yes, a small, pink, crystal-covered gun in his hands. That made him snort. Not like he cared, but it would probably be an interesting image. "I do need to show you how to reload, so we should empty your clip." He popped his ear protection back on and held his hand out for her weapon.

Cerise was all for seeing him wielding her girly-looking gun, so she gave him a nod and gave her gun to him. After she had her ear protection on, she watched him carefully.  As soon as he was sure she was ready, he turned the safety off and took stance. Vanderwood knew he had four shots left in her 6-round clip, so he popped off four in quick succession - two to the heart and two to the head. He was fast and efficient before he lowered the gun and removed the empty clip, hand going to his non-existent jacket pocket as though to reload. That had been pure instinct. Right. Currently he was just in a dress-shirt without his usual repertoire of items. He bit his tongue and removed his ear protection. Old habits die hard.

He shot it _fast_. It took her forever to get up her nerve and make sure she was in a correct stance. Marion did it so effortlessly and flawlessly in a matter of seconds. Plus he’d emptied the clip and gone to reload before she even realized what round they were on. She was in complete awe to see him do something like that - especially since she was able to pay attention with no danger around. It was actually...kind of hot? Her eyes widened as she blushed and shook her head. Not the time. "That was so cool!" She couldn’t contain the excitement in her voice as she took off the ear protection.

His face was starting to turn red, but he just wiggled her empty clip. “Let me show you how to reload.” Cerise got closer, watching him carefully. Vanderwood was slow, showing her how to reload twice before taking out the clip another time and making her do it herself. "The types of situations you might end up in, changing clips is won’t be about speed, but it doesn't hurt to practice it until it becomes muscle memory."

Cerise was a fast learner. He hadn't wanted her to have to learn this kind of thing. She should never have needed to, but now that she did - he was pretty damn impressed with how quickly she was catching on. That and she looked really good with that gun in her hands - maybe a little too good. Not the time to be thinking about that. She did look amazing in that dress. Vanderwood coughed softly and pushed her gun box at her. "Do you maybe want to finish up for the day and head home?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I wanna test out my new present some more if that's ok?" She felt like they had just gotten there, and he already wanted to leave? Sure, she was kinda tired, too - the emotional toll of the day. Still. it was pretty early, unless..."You're pretty eager today, huh?" Cerise giggled as she nudged him. "Ya gotta take a girl to dinner first, you know. Especially if that girl is your wife~"

Again, she got him. "Sorry..." What the fuck was up with him today? Must just be the idea of it all - her being Mrs. Vanderwood. He rubbed at the back of his head. "Yeah, you just play around a little more." Bloody Hell, he was ridiculous on a regular day, but he was just being plain awful today. She only laughed and patted his arm before putting her ear protection on and getting back to practice.

Vanderwood leaned his hip against the wall, watching her as he played with his tie, loosening it. He hated the restriction, but he had to admit he looked bloody good in leopard. She looked damn good. Vanderwood eventually switched to looking at his phone, focusing on taking her to dinner and spending time with her rather than being a horny little asshole. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, too - pushing a hand through his bangs as he just relaxed. No point in acting like time was wasting when he had all the time in the world now.

Cerise had busied herself with trying to practice aiming more and pretty much got the hang of it by the end of her clip. She decided to try and load another on her own, fumbling around with it at first but eventually figuring it out. A few more shots, and she felt like she was golden. "Hey, Marion!" Cerise waved around to get his attention. Vanderwood looked up at the muffled sound of his wife’s voice, pushing off the wall with an eyebrow raised.

That was when… _bloody fucking Hell_. She’d gotten in the correct stance, aimed, and shot the target right in the crotch. After she lowered the gun, she turned to him with the dumbest grin on her face. All he could think was, _ow_. Why did he feel like covering up and falling to his knees? That was some intense sympathy pain for a paper target. Remind him to never be near the business end of her weapon, because _he needed that part_.

She seemed amused with his reaction as he gave her a meek thumbs-up before taking off his headphones. He certainly wasn't turned on right now. "Let's get food. I need food.” Vanderwood bit his tongue, internally slapping himself for being an idiot before coming up to her as she took off her own headphones and started to pack away her gun. He watched her turn off the safety before he slipped his arms around her, nuzzling into her hair.

"You did really well...Mrs. Vanderwood." His arms tightened around her as she leaned into him. It was the perfect name for her. Cerise only leaned into him more. Being in his arms was her favorite place in the world. _Mrs. Vanderwood..._ The name made her feel all fluttery and warm again. "It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it~? Thanks for sharing your name with me, mon amour~"

Cerise had this special way of melting his heart into a puddle. No one in the world could do that like she did. "Thank you for sharing your life with me." He could go on and on about how her being in his life had been the thing to give him purpose and a reason worth sticking around for, but if he knew his Cerise - she was ready to eat. His thanks could wait until later tonight.

***

He pressed a soft kiss to the side of her head, nervous as he took her to the restaurant. Vanderwood wasn't comfortable with _normal_ dates. They'd gone out to eat only once before. That had been spur of the moment, because he'd been too anxious about proposing to even cook. He'd decided to take her to that same place for their wedding day. That seemed a little cheesy, but Cerise liked that kind of thing.

Vanderwood was way too good at being cringe-y anyway. They were able to get that corner seat where he could watch everyone, but mostly his eyes were on her. Essentially for the whole of dinner he couldn't stop looking at the beautiful woman in front of him. She was now his wife, his life partner, and the woman he'd give his everything to and then some.

Cerise didn’t question why they were at the same restaurant as before. It was probably what he was comfortable with. It was a nice place and kind of romantic. She wasn't sure if that's what he was intending, but it worked. Cerise had ordered a big piece of chocolate cake with her meal, choosing to eat that first. This only earned her a look from her husband. It was her wedding day, too! _Let there be cake_. He just kept staring at her. Cerise stared back for a moment. Did he maybe...actually want some? She took some on her fork and held it out to him. "You want some?" As she asked, she waved the fork around. "It's good~"

He had zoned out until she waved her fork around at him. "Huh? Oh, no, I don't like cake." Had he really been awkwardly staring at her? _Nicely done_. "I was just thinking about how I'm the luckiest man in the world to get to love you and have you as my wife." Being with her had made him better able to share what he felt, and he wouldn't want it any other way anymore. Sure, he'd turned into a sappy shit, but he felt pretty good about it.

She was just happy it was a, 'zoning out while thinking about my cute wife,' thing and not a, 'I want Cerise's cake,' thing. Though, his answer would explain why the cake she had ordered for his birthday remained completely untouched by him. "I consider myself incredibly lucky, too. I still can't believe I got to marry such a sweet and wonderful person." Cerise watched him curiously as he gave her a smile before he started to fiddle with his phone. He was on Fakebook?

Vanderwood set his relationship status to, 'Married to Cerise Song,' and posted several of the pictures Seven had taken. She'd have to accept it for it to show up properly, and she hadn't changed her last name on her social media yet. Still, it was there. “Here…” He slid his phone over to her to let her see.

Life was so different from what it had been. Vanderwood would never have thought he'd have social media - preferring to live as off the grid as he could manage - let alone that he’d get tagged in posts and become a sensation of his own. It had all started with tags. Cerise was his miracle, and he wanted to make her the happiest woman on Earth if he could manage it. "You've changed my life...and I'm beyond glad to be your husband."

She felt her heart getting fluttery all over again, smiling at his sweet gesture. Cerise had left her own phone in her purse and hadn't really messed with it for a good majority of the day. This day was theirs, and as exciting as it all was - she didn't owe anybody anything except for her new husband. She would gladly give him her undivided attention. Cerise took her time to look through the pictures, her smile growing as she did so. Seven was a bit of a goofball, but he had taken some great pictures - she'd give him that.

Finally, Cerise took out her own phone - ignoring all the notifications she had gotten. She updated her Fakebook to match his and updated her name. 'Cerise Song' was now 'Cerise Vanderwood'. Cerise showed him her own phone with a giggle. "Fakebook official and everything! Look at that~" Almost instantly, people began to comment on and react to the post - causing her phone to go crazy.

For once in her life, she put her phone on silent and stuck it in her purse. "I'm beyond glad to be your wife. You've definitely made me a better person, I think." She felt like it was all thanks to him; she was able to mature a bit - in a way she didn't think she would have managed so soon if left to her own devices. Cerise couldn't explain it, but she did feel different - in a good way. "So...you gonna actually eat your food or are you gonna continue staring at me all night?"

He’d turned his own phone to silent - since her mass of followers had started to follow him. Instead of putting his phone away right then, he ended up staring at it before he tucked it back into his pocket as she talked - getting lost in her eyes. Maybe he had helped her grow. Vanderwood blinked at her as she asked about his food. "Well...I won't stare at you _all_ night." The innuendo he’d accidentally spewed made him cough and rub the back of his head awkwardly. He started to eat to cover up the fact that he was blushing like an idiot as she laughed. It was apparently just one of those days for him.

Once they'd finished their food, he would have asked if she wanted some dessert, but clearly - she'd eaten her cake first anyway. That was wrong on so many levels, but Cerise did stuff he couldn't comprehend on a regular basis. "Ready to head home, _wife_?" Vanderwood offered her his hand, which she took before he laced their fingers together.

Marion was totally going to abuse that word as much as he could, wasn't he? It was so cute and she enjoyed it. "Of course, _husband_ ~" Cerise had almost wanted to ask about dessert just to get a reaction out of him, but she figured she would save that for another time. She giggled thinking about the look he had given her once she had begun to dig into that giant piece of chocolate cake before her actual food. His reactions to things were something she enjoyed, and he was hilarious - whether he knew it or not.

It was still hard to believe that she was married. _They_ were married. A lot of people didn't marry until they were in their thirties. He was a lot closer than she was, but they were still on the younger side. Cerise didn't mind. She was sure it was something that was going to last.

He couldn’t stop thinking about it as he walked her to the car - the way his life should have gone. Vanderwood had always thought he would die young. Life was short sometimes, but even if they didn’t have long because of something out of their control - as long as he was with her, then he’d enjoy it. As soon as they were in the car, he took her hand once more. There was something about today; he didn't want to let her go at all.

Marion seemed pretty keen on physical contact - today in particular, and she couldn't complain. She loved the attention and felt most comfortable when she was near him - especially when they were actually touching. Cerise would periodically give his hand a squeeze; it was kind of like a hug without hugging. Even before everything, he had always helped her out of the car, and tonight was no exception. Not as much of a jerk to begin with as he thought he was...or she had thought he was, for that matter.

He’d paused for a moment, and Cerise looked up at him in confusion. Had something been wrong or did he zone out again? She didn’t have time to finish the though before he took her chin and kissed her. Cerise felt the cool metal of the car against her back as he pressed her against it, but she didn’t care. It was one of those time where it felt like he was pouring everything he felt into kissing her. Every time was like a new experience, each depending on how intensely he was feeling.

His _wife_. Vanderwood felt like he hadn't kissed her nearly enough today - like he needed to celebrate her being his forever. He poured everything into that kiss as she did the same before he broke it and kissed her forehead instead. It was a relatively short kiss, for them, but it felt intense enough that it didn’t matter. "I guess I'm supposed to carry you over the threshold, right?" He didn't know a whole lot about relationships, but that was one bit he knew was a thing at least where he came from. Was that a thing for the French or Koreans? Was he that ignorant that he didn't know his own wife's customs? Fantastic.

"Maybe?" Cerise giggled at the look on his face - the intensity between them not cooling down even for this moment. Honestly, she wasn't sure how any of this was supposed to work after everything was said and done. All she knew was what she saw in movies and television, and she wasn't about to imitate anything she saw to do with telenovela marriages. That was just a recipe for disaster. They were unique anyway, so anything he wanted to do was fine by her. "I'm not going to protest being carried by my handsome husband anywhere, "

He was loving being married, and he was loving her. "Hold on." Vanderwood bent to swoop her up as Cerise squealed with delight. He made sure to hold her so the skirt of her dress couldn't go up above her thighs. No one but him needed that view. Vanderwood ended up needing her help to unlock the house door, snorting a little at himself for not thinking of that earlier as she giggled along. Once they were inside, he let her down gently and locked up while she smoothed down her dress. It seemed that he was already trying to escape his tie, but she was lucky that she had even gotten him to wear it in the first place. He looked amazing.

Vanderwood felt that much more comfortable with the tie undone. Of course, he needed the dress shirt off, too. He’d wait at least until they were out of the hallway. They'd had an eventful day to now coming home and not really having anything big or important to do...other than each other. Vanderwood bit his tongue, internally chiding himself. He looked her over again - how beautiful she looked in that dress. It fit her perfectly, but right now he would prefer it on the floor.

"Did you want to...finish making this official?" Was he ever going to not be awkward about sex again? Ever since he'd been with her, he'd gotten so awkward about it. The only time he wasn't was when he was using actions rather than words. Cerise set her purse down and glanced back over to him as he asked. There was really only one thing left, so she was pretty sure of what he was asking - not that he hadn't made it blatantly obvious multiple times that day that he had been looking forward to it. It was for the right reasons, though. Cerise gave him an amused smile and went to give him a hug. "Sounds good to me."

She was amused with him, but he couldn't blame her. He was something today. Vanderwood wrapped her up in his arms and bent to kiss her once more, slow as he carefully removed the clips holding her hair in place - wanting it free to tangle his fingers in as he liked to. What had he said about not getting undressed in the hallway? Right. Not really something they should be doing. Vanderwood snorted again before he moved to swoop her up, giving her just a moment's warning.

Cerise was taken a little by surprise when he broke the kiss to pick her up again. He was careful as he took her to the bed and laid her down, kicking off his shoes and socks before crawling in over her to kiss her all over again. When he kissed her, it was so warm and so full of affection and love that she felt like she could melt...but she couldn't exactly be a good wife to him if she were a puddle, could she?

He was taking his sweet time, not wanting to rush anything. It was going to be different tonight. She was now his wife, and he was her husband. The Vanderwoods. He liked the sound of it. Vanderwood started to kiss down, ironically pulling her hair to the side again to kiss along her neck lower until her dress strap got in the way of his favorite place to nip at.

As he slowly pulled down her zipper, she shrugged lightly to help him as he slid the strap away from her shoulder - surprised to find that he didn’t remove the whole thing. He was really taking his time for someone who had been so eager earlier, but she wasn’t complaining at all. Tonight was a night that they _should_ take their time to enjoy each other. Vanderwood pressed soft kisses to her shoulder again before he nipped and licked - teasing her like she liked to do to him and already causing her to elicit a small sound. He continued this for some time before actually leaving a mark over where he always did.

His wife - his everything. Vanderwood gave the mark a kiss before he was back to kissing her. As eager as he was, he was going to appreciate every bit of her that he could. Cerise wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her as they kissed. She was absolutely and completely happy that he was her husband - that she got a chance to share her life with him and that he was sharing his - letting her in in the most absolute way possible.

Vanderwood broke their kiss to murmur against her lips as he began to get his dress-shirt off. “I love you, shortcake.” He had to pull away from her in the end to deal with the item in question. There were too many buttons, and it was taking way too long. This was just another reason to hate dressing up. She could have helped him with his buttons, but it was much more amusing to her to watch him do it himself - knowing that it was irking him. Plus, it was incredibly sexy to watch him get undressed - especially when what he was taking off was dressy. As he tossed the shirt along with his tie at the hamper in the corner, she let her eyes wander over him before his attention was on her again.

He helped her to get her arms out of the dress and then slipped it off easily. Bloody Hell, she was ridiculously sexy like that. Vanderwood knew his breath would hitch again once she was completely naked, but he couldn't help but take in the sight he already had. "You're amazing...Mrs. Vanderwood." Cerise felt her heart flutter as he said her name, giving him a wink as she replied. “You’re equally as amazing…husband of Mrs. Vanderwood.”  

It was so great to say and hear it - to keep reminding themselves and each other what they now had. Her giggle got caught in her throat as he touched her, shaping her legs that he loved so much as he nuzzled her nose. Taking his time was hard - _like he was_ \- but it was beyond worth it just for the intimacy of it. Cerise nuzzled him back before placing a soft kiss to his nose. "I really am happy, you know? More than I think I could try to tell you..." She figured she should tell him what she thought, considering he liked to doubt himself. Cerise really was; she hadn't ever been this happy before now, and he needed to know that.

Vanderwood loved it - being her husband was the greatest moment of his life. Hearing that she was happy with him was the greatest compliment he could ever get, and the way it made him feel was indescribable. He lightly stroked her cheek, Cerise turning her head to press a kiss to his palm before he moved to kiss her again softly. "I'll do my best to keep you that way, for the rest of my life." How was he this lucky? Really? Tears of a joy were a real thing. He felt a little wetness at the corner of his eyes and snorted softly at himself.

Cerise noticed he was tearing up - which made her want to, too. It was such a sweet moment. All of this was great. Being with him was great. She thought that maybe he needed a moment to compose himself as he nuzzled into her neck, but she was surprised. He found the clasp of her bra with one hand, and there it went - off into the corner. So much for tears. She could almost have laughed. Not because she thought it was funny, but because she was happy and loved him.

His other hand lightly tangled in her silky, soft hair as he moved to kiss his way down from her neck to tease her nipple with his tongue, first one and then the other. She was so sensitive that he couldn't resist paying attention to her there - wanting to hear her get louder for him. Cerise tangled her hands in his hair as he took advantage of exactly what he knew would make her noisiest. He was earning himself particularly loud moans. Combined with the feeling of his hand in her hair and the teasing of his tongue, she was in the best daze ever.

As he pulled away to remove her panties and toss them away, he got a good look at her and felt his breath hitch to complete stillness. Would he ever be able to get over that sight? No, he wouldn't. Cerise was disappointed as he pulled away, and now he’d gotten rid of her last line of defense - looking at her intensely as she was exposed to him. She always felt so vulnerable under his gaze - no matter how many times he had seen her. Today was a lot more intimate than probably any other, which had her feeling it a little extra. She had given her heart and soul to this man - her husband - and now she would give him her body, too. Of course, they'd had sex before, but this time held a completely different meaning

Impatience was a bit of a monster as he moved to undo his pants and remove his underwear. It was always a lot less painful once he was free of his pants, but that didn't make him want her any less. He moved over her again, kissing up from her stomach - wanting to slow himself down again instead of just going for it. Every time his lips made contact with her bare skin, she would shiver.

Vanderwood stroked her hair back as he gave her yet another kiss, pressing against her with a soft groan before he caught her honey gold eyes with his brown. She had whimpered into their kiss, but he was still going to ask. "Ready, _wife_?" She reached up to caress his face lovingly, cracking a smile. It was so obvious that he’d just wanted an excuse to say it again - to call her his wife. "I'm ready if my _husband_ is ready~" Cerise let her hand slide from his face down to his chest, her nails dragging lightly along his skin. "Is my husband ready?"

Bloody Hell, her voice was as much a tease as her touch. Whenever she touched him, he loved it - especially when she dragged her nails along his skin like that. Vanderwood snorted at her question. "You tell me." He lightly stroked his thumb along her jaw before he ground against her - a soft curse word escaping him. Teasing her was teasing him, but he was enjoying this time with her.

Cerise would have giggled at the way his teasing her had made it harder on himself - if it weren’t so difficult for her right now, too. She enjoyed when he teased her, though, when he could be playful in bed. It was a bigger deal than it seemed to be, because he was an impatient person - an impatient person who formerly used sex to cope. The fact that he was playing around was another testament to his ongoing recovery. She managed to breathe out a soft response. "That's very convincing.” As much as she enjoyed playing around, she knew that they weren't going to be able to for long.

He smiled at her, at the way she could barely speak. Vanderwood couldn’t tease her forever, though, so he moved to thrust into her - gentle but swift as he found an easy pace. It was slower than usual, but he wanted to be swept up in her. Her hands had been wandering over his back, but now they gripped him - more roughly than she had intended. Marion hadn’t hurt or surprised her, but it felt _good_. It wasn’t just that having sex with him was great, but it was the fact that she could be close to the person she loved more than anything.

"Je' taime, Cerise..." He nuzzled into her neck as she responded. Once upon a time, he’d bury his face in the necks of other women in favor of that rather than looking at them, but this was more affectionate than anything. It seemed like forever ago that sex had been a means to an end, but with her it was like a soul-mending experience. Whatever it was, it was love. VSomething about the way he was nuzzling into her made Cerise’s heart skip a beat as she released her grip on his back to instead stroke his hair. They’d both come a long way from where they started.

Vanderwood moved to kiss her again, picking up his pace and finding her thigh - adjusting the angle so he could hit the spot he knew would give her the most pleasure. She was kissing him back with enthusiasm as he built them both up towards climax. The change in angle made her cry out in ecstasy before he broke their kiss. He wanted to watch her face, feeling his own peak building up and biting it back as he waited for her. The more he moved, the closer he felt her getting - every moment precious to him as he pleased her and she pleased him.

Cerise didn’t have time to be shy, self-conscious, or anything as he watched her. Sometimes, when he would watch for her reactions - she’d try to fight it. She still had a ways to go in feeling one-hundred percent comfortable with herself when engaging in sexual activity, but right now - she was feeling too good to be bothered. It already felt like she was on that edge, and it wasn’t long after that before she reached her climax right along with him.

He’d only let go of the heat burning in his abdomen as he felt her muscles clamping down around him - each of them filling the room with a moan. Vanderwood stilled and rested his forehead against hers as he was catching his breath as she took to stroking his hair affectionately. Cerise was his wife. He snorted softly before it happened - tears building up and spilling over.

She felt something wet on her cheek. He was crying. Cerise was worried for a second that something was wrong, but then he started laughing, too. Vanderwood spoke between his laughter and tears. "I love you, my perfect wife." At this point, she couldn't help but catch the giggles as well. "And I love you, my equally perfect husband~" Cerise moved to kiss his cheek where another tear was and then his forehead. "New year, new start ~"

Her little kisses made it that much better of a moment for him. This must have been what utter joy was like. Vanderwood shifted them, lying down and pulling her into his arms. "New year, new start." It was a bloody good start, too. He nuzzled her hair as she nuzzled his chest - pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head afterwards. What time was it? His eyes found the digital clock. It was late evening but not midnight. "Do you want to stay up for the new year countdown, or would my new wife rather sleep with her husband?" It felt so good to say that. Maybe this would be the one year he'd make an exception and stay up? If that was what Cerise wanted.

Cerise thought about it for a moment, but really the only thing she wanted to celebrate that day was their marriage. Plus, she was _really_ comfortable there in his arms. "I wanna stay here and sleep with my new husband." As she answered, she snuggled into him more. She was tired, and she knew he was tired - especially after he’d been out among so many people for so long. Most other years, she would have stayed up and partied. This year was different. There were more important things. She fell asleep pretty fast afterwards, likely before he did. He always took a little longer to fall asleep.

***Incidentally! I wrote angst every day for 31 days in October using a horde of Original Characters for different angst scenarios ranging from grief to abandonment. If you would like to find out about this project, you can do that by going to my website***

Check out my website. [~Let’s Connect! FFC](https://fanfictionconnection.wordpress.com/)


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